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Effects of pronoun brand name perspective and positioning on brand attitude
|
[
"New product development",
"Brand name",
"Consumer behavior",
"Brand meaning",
"Pronouns"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this issue.\n1. Introduction: The usage of pronouns and their homonyms in brand names dates back to at least 1945, with the establishment of U-Haul as a one-way trailer rental service for do-it-yourself movers during the post-World War II sprawl in the USA (U-Haul, 2013). Who did the hauling? You, the consumer. Pronoun brand nomenclature - designed to evoke the consumer's self-concept - has become particularly trendy in recent years, revitalized by Apple's introduction of the iMac in 1998 and following through to social media phenomena like MySpace and YouTube among many others. Recent research has articulated when and how I and my brand names produce favorable consumer responses (Wiebenga and Fennis, 2012; Kachersky and Palermo, 2013), yet the influence of the archetypal you on brand name evaluations remains unexplored. This research aims to address that gap.\n2. Conceptual background: It is well-understood that brand names are an essential communicator of meaning (Klink, 2000, 2003; Klink and Athaide, 2011), and that they enhance marketing offers with benefits beyond the basic function of the core product or service (cf. del Rio et al., 2001). In general, communications that elicit consumers' sense of self tend to elicit favorable responses (Howard and Kerin, 2013), and pronouns have been shown to both indicate and induce such a sense. For example, consumer's use of the first-person singular I versus its plural correspondent, we, tends to indicate a consumer's focus on himself compared with a focus on his group (Briley and Wyer, 2002). Use of I has similarly been shown to indicate narcissism (Raskin and Shaw, 1988). In addition, people also tend to better remember words that are conditioned with first-person rather than third-person pronouns (Shi et al., 2011). Researchers have started to uncover the communicative influence of pronouns embedded in brand names. Wiebenga and Fennis (2012) conceptualized both I and my as simple indicators of oneself, thus embedding each in a brand name enhances consumer preference in part through perceived similarity to oneself. Kachersky and Palermo (2013) unified the research on first-person pronouns within the context of brand names, demonstrating how and why the appearance of the first-person pronouns I and my in brand names produces favorable consumer responses. In short, by connoting possession, my (e.g. MySpace) gives consumers a sense of subjective ownership just by reading the brand name. Analogous to actual ownership of a product (Barone et al., 1999), this sense of subjective ownership then leads to increased preferences for my brands. By contrast, I is defined as \"the subjective case of the first person singular pronoun\" and is \"used by the speaker or writer when referring to himself or herself\" (I, 2015). I frames the speaker as the subject, priming thoughts of the speaker (i.e. oneself) performing some action (De Gaynesford, 2006). In turn, when consumers imagine themselves actively using a product, their evaluations of that product become more favorable (Escalas, 2004, 2007). Kachersky and Palermo (2013) found that I brand names elicit such thoughts, therefore, increasing preferences for I brands through a different process than was the case with my brands.\n3. Study 1: A study was designed to test the proposed influence of product positioning and pronoun on consumer preference. The experiment was conducted via Qualtrics online survey software. In total, 375 respondents for the main study were recruited from a nationally representative panel of US consumers, and they participated in exchange for points that could be redeemed for prizes. The sample was 50.1 per cent male and 49.3 per cent female; two participants declined to indicate their gender. The experiment used a 2 (personal pronoun perspective: you vs I) x 2 (positioning: social vs personal) between-subjects design in which participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions and asked to evaluate a product concept. The product concept included the experimental treatments. Brand name pronoun was manipulated to be either you or I, while product positioning was oriented toward either social or personal benefits. After reading the product concept, participants indicated their attitude toward the brand on two semantic differentials (1 = negative, 7 = positive; 1 = bad, 7 = good) that measure the affective component of brand attitude (Aggarwal, 2004; White and Dahl, 2007). The two items were highly correlated (r = 0.80) and averaged together to form a composite (M = 5.38). Participants completed the procedure by indicating basic demographic information and leaving any optional comments.\n4. Study 2: 4.1 Method and procedure\n5. Discussion: This research investigated the conditions under which pronouns with different perspectives - first-person versus second-person - would elicit favorable consumer responses. In doing so, this article includes several contributions to the role of self-concept in consumer psychology and to the emergent practice of pronoun usage in brand names. We demonstrated that the usage of the first-person pronoun I and of the second-person pronoun you in a brand name can have a positive impact on brand attitudes, but that each did so relative to its fit with the overall brand positioning. You, a more social cue, did better when the offering was positioned for its social benefits, while I, a more introspective cue, did better when the offering was positioned for its personal benefits.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relative effectiveness of the second-person pronoun perspective within a brand name (as in \"You\"Tube) and the first-person pronoun perspective (as in \"i\"Phone).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Drawing on prior research on self-concept, general pronoun usage and the fit between branding tactics and positioning, it is predicted that \"you\" will garner more favorable consumer responses when the brand is positioned on social benefits, while \"I\" will garner more favorable responses when the brand is positioned on personal benefits. These predictions are tested in two experiments with US consumers.\nFindings: When the brand in the experiment was positioned for its social benefits, \"you\" elicited more favorable brand attitudes than \"I\", while the opposite was true when the brand was positioned for its personal benefits. This effect tends to be stronger among those with higher self-esteem.\nPractical implications: Managers can make more informed pronoun brand name selections based on their brand's intended positioning - if it is social, \"you\" should be used; if it is personal, \"I\" should be used.\nOriginality/value: The influence of pronouns in brand names is still largely unexplored. This research is the first to examine \"you\" brand names and also sheds light on how another marketing variable - positioning - impacts consumer preference for pronoun brand names. Finally, this work shows that such effects are more pronounced for those with higher self-esteem.\n",
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SME perceptions of and responses to the recession
|
[
"Recession",
"Recovery",
"Small to medium‐sized enterprises",
"Business perceptions",
"Business growth"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The UK has recently experienced the worst recession since the 1930s. The initial economic crisis, which saw a 7 per cent decline in output between the first quarter of 2008 and the end of 2009 (Office for National Statistics, 2012a), has been followed by a prolonged period of low and negative growth. This led to the UK re-entering recession in early 2012. At the same time, forecasts for GDP growth in the UK were revised downwards by the International Monetary Fund (2012) due to the severe effect of the global economic crisis on the UK financial sector. There continue to be concerns that a flat-lining economy will become the \"new normal\" (Davis, 2009).Despite the severity of this recent recession, there are currently few studies of its effect on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, small business growth and entrepreneurship are recognised as essential drivers for economic recovery (Matlay, 2012; Rae, 2010). Drawing on an online bi-monthly survey of SMEs in Lincolnshire and Rutland, this paper explores owner-managers' perceptions of the UK recession. We examine the views of businesses on various aspects of the recession, and how this has affected business performance, levels of confidence, and growth ambitions. The paper explores the role of business confidence in the economy as a determinant of business growth intentions, and draws a comparison between perceptions and behaviour.The paper first outlines relevant literature on the effect of recession on SMEs, and owner-manager strategies to respond to recession. It then provides a methodology that describes the survey design and sampling approach, and some context for the area where the survey was undertaken. The findings section sets out the key results of the survey. The discussion and conclusions sections relate the findings to broader debates on the economy, and draw out recommendations for how SMEs might be better supported during recession.\nLiterature review: Resilience, which can be defined as \"the process of adapting well in the face of adversity\" (De Jorge Moreno et al., 2007) and the survivability of SMEs during recession, are thought to be related to a number of factors that are internal and external to the firm. These include the severity of the economic crisis and the environmental context of the SME, as well as the individual strategies undertaken by SME owner-managers. Drawing on the literature, we first examine the effect of the latest recession on SMEs before considering the role of SME owner-managers' response.The effect of the recession on SMEs\nMethodology: The results have been generated from a survey of SMEs, named the \"Local Economic Snapshot\", in the English counties of Lincolnshire and Rutland. The survey was designed to provide quick feedback on business perceptions of the recession, and to track the effect of changing economic conditions and specific events on an ongoing basis. The survey results were used by the Lincolnshire and Rutland Employment and Skills Board and Lincolnshire County Council to inform policy, and by the University of Lincoln for analysis and wider dissemination.The survey has been undertaken bi-monthly and has generated 11 sets of responses that represent two years of data from July 2010 to May 2012. The survey was started nine months after the UK officially emerged from 2008-2009 recession in the third quarter of 2009, as Figure 1 shows. The survey period therefore includes the period of recovery after the 2008-2009 recession, as well as the two quarters of negative growth that saw the UK re-enter recession in the second quarter of 2012. The period of survey administration has therefore included periods of low and negative growth.Geographical context\nFindings: The recession and trading conditions\nDiscussion: The survey findings show that, throughout the period between July 2010 and May 2012, the majority of respondents continued to feel that the recession was not yet over for their business. The findings reinforce predictions by the International Monetary Fund (2012) that growth is likely to remain subdued well into 2012, and the view of the Institute for Fiscal Studies that the recession \"has cast a very long shadow in the UK\" (Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2011, p. 20).Despite low optimism about the state of the economy, businesses appear to differentiate between wider economic conditions and the environment in which their business trades. This distinction may reflect the different sources of information that inform their perceptions of each. Their perception of the recession may be informed by time-lagged data reporting and also the media-led focus on the negative aspects of economic changes. Perceptions of trading conditions are perhaps more influenced by observation of changes that affect the day-to-day running of the business, including engagement in international trade.The prospect of public sector cuts has continued to be a concern for businesses throughout the period of the survey. This reinforces the findings of PricewaterhouseCoopers (2010) that businesses reliant on the public sector through public sector contracts or expenditure by public sector employees have been severely affected during this recent recession. Our analysis shows that SMEs are starting to feel the effects of public sector cuts, with a shift away from expectations towards a sense that the cuts are already affecting their business. Late customer payments and poor access to finance are also reported by the majority of respondents throughout the two-year period.In terms of owner-manager response to the recession, the survey results suggest an emphasis towards revenue-generating rather than cost-cutting approaches. Around half of businesses have shown a commitment to expand the activities in their business despite acknowledging the presence of adverse economic conditions. This suggests that entrepreneurial growth opportunities continue to be recognised and acted upon during periods of recession. Similarly, a greater proportion of businesses plan to increase the hours worked by employees or recruit additional staff than reduce hours or decrease the size of their workforce. Across almost all these measures, however, a decline can be observed from January 2012 onwards. This could suggest that businesses are retaining the existing capacity of their workforces, or that they are choosing to make fewer changes to their business as the UK re-enters recession. This is supported by research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2012), which shows that a third of firms are maintaining staff levels above what is needed to avoid losing workforce skills but will need to make job losses if the recession continues.Considering the relationship between business confidence and growth intentions, the survey findings indicate that GDP growth data and views on the recession are shown to be less strongly related to business decisions than views on trading conditions and public sector cuts. These results suggest that the behaviour of SME owner managers is more closely rooted in experience and/or anticipation of events that directly affect them rather than the anticipation of changes in the wider economy. The results emphasise that business expectations about the wider economy are indeed, as Wheeler (2010) suggests, not necessarily an indicator of business growth and may produce a \"false signal\".The findings suggest that access to finance continues to be an important factor in business survival; the strong correlation of access to finance with SMEs intending to expand business activities suggests that owner managers may be seeking finance at moments when they are exploring new sources of revenue. Lack of access to finance may, in turn, impede SMEs' abilities to expand the activities in their business.\nConclusions: At a time when there are few publications on the effect of the 2008-2009 recession on businesses, the findings set out in this paper provide timely insights into SMEs' perceptions of these economic conditions and their confidence for business growth. The longitudinal nature of the survey has provided the opportunity to track views on the effects of the recession over a two-year period. The survey data has provided a benchmarking tool for participating SMEs in Lincolnshire and Rutland, and by the local Employment and Skills Board to gain a greater understanding of changes within the labour market, and to forecast demand for recruitment and training services.The emphasis on business expansion highlighted by the survey reflects the \"instinctive\" determination of SMEs to survive, however, and a strong level of resilience and adaptability, as Anderson and Russell (2009) have suggested. The desire of SME owner managers to grow their way out of difficult economic times is clear, and is one where policymakers could assist. The period since January 2012 has seen a decline in SMEs expanding the activities in their business, however, with a shift towards maintaining current capacity.The survey highlights a number of external factors that have had a prolonged effect on SME owner-managers' plans for their business. Access to finance is identified as a clear precursor to business expansion, but SMEs reported that easy access to finance has remained low over the period. The findings suggest that SMEs, as Sahin et al. (2011) suggest, continue to be considered an investment risk by banks, and that there has been little change in the availability of finance for business throughout the period of the survey. Given the link between access to finance and business expansion, and therefore employment and economic growth, this puts the impetus on policymakers to identify and promote alternative financing models for SMEs. The Government's Business Growth Initiative and National Loan Guarantee Scheme are examples, but are focused towards larger businesses with significant growth potential. The financing needs of SMEs are more likely to be met by providers of smaller funding amounts, which include private equity funders, local authority loan funds and online sources such as crowd funding.The loss of public sector revenue is clearly restricting the ability of SMEs to grow during the recessionary period. As in Lincolnshire and Rutland, this is likely to be the case in other peripheral areas that have developed an increasing reliance on the public sector. The findings support the view of Martin (2011) that the economic structure of a region affects its ability to respond to economic shocks. For SMEs to grow in these peripheral areas, there is a need to identify new sources of revenue and refocus business models. The business development programme \"Business Inspiration\", which was delivered by the University of Lincoln during the course of the survey, shows that there is continued demand for support that helps businesses to clarify the focus of their activities and develop more sustainable business models (Rae et al., 2012). However, the ability of SMEs to participate in such programmes is restricted by their own limited resources, and a reduction in funding for mainstream business support.SMEs are identified by both government and academics as vital to future UK growth and productivity (Department for Business Innovation & Skills, 2009; Matlay, 2012). However, with a loss of public sector revenue and restricted access to finance, the continued growth of the SME sector and its contribution to the economic recovery cannot be assumed. The need for policymakers to assist SMEs in exploring alternative business models and revenue sources is clearly identified through the findings outlined here, and is arguably a pre-condition for a return to national economic growth.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to explore perceptions of the recession and recovery by SMEs in Lincolnshire and Rutland. The paper seeks to examine the relationship between businesses' perceptions of the economy and their growth ambitions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The results were generated from a bi-monthly online survey of SMEs. The survey includes two years of data from July 2010 to May 2012, spanning periods of recovery and recession. The survey comprises a number of Likert-scale questions which have been tracked throughout the period.\nFindings: - The findings suggest a separation of how businesses perceive wider economic conditions, and their role and performance within the economy. Views on trading conditions and public sector cuts are identified as a more important determinant of business behaviour than views on the economy overall.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The findings are based on research undertaken with SMEs in a specific geographical area of England and, as such, there is limited scope for generalisation beyond this area. Further research could compare the responses of SMEs in this predominantly rural area with metropolitan areas, for example.\nPractical implications: - The paper highlights the importance of revenue sourced from the public sector for SMEs in peripheral areas. Policy implications include the need to support SMEs in identifying alternative sources of revenue and/or new business models in the face of reducing public sector expenditure.\nOriginality/value: - The paper presents an innovative approach for analysing SME perceptions, the findings of which have informed a business support programme run by the University of Lincoln, and used as a benchmarking tool by participating SMEs.\n",
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Process performance measurement in manufacturing organizations
|
[
"Performance management",
"Performance measures",
"Manufacturing industries"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Nothing is more wastefulthan doing with greatefficiency that whichis totally unnecessary! (Will Kaydos).\"Process performance measurement\" has been a topic of interest (and indeed sometimes a \"hot topic\") for many industrial or quality managers since 2000 when the latest version of the international ISO 9000 family of standards was launched on December 2000. The quality management systems, created and certified against ISO 9001:2000 standard, relate to the practical application of eight basic management principles (Nenadal, 2003).One of these is the process approach: \"desired results are achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process\", suggests ISO 9000 (2005). For each organization to function more effectively, it has to identify and manage numerous interrelated and interacting processes. In spite of the fact that process performance measurement is an obligatory requirement included in chapter 8 of the ISO 9001 standard, there are yet a number of problems and weaknesses related to such measurement. This paper discusses these and some lessons learned from the author's personal experience (gained from auditing and self-assessment projects).The first area of weakness is the confusion and misunderstanding around some of the basic terminology. Let us remind ourselves that a process can be simply defined as:[...] a set of activities that transform inputs to outputs within a framework of defined regulators and resource consumption.The basic process model is shown in Figure 1. The benefits modelling, understanding and addressing processes are:*improving process performance;*lowering process costs;*understanding the capacity of the process to fulfil output requirements and to meet internal performance goals;*shortening process cycle time; and*improving, process consistent and the predictability of outputs.A key pre-requisite is to identify and empower a \"process owner\" for every process within the company. The process owner is the person (function) within the organization who is responsible for:*output quality; and*effective process performance.These responsibilities must be defined clearly and carefully. Authority must be assigned to the process owner so that he/she can be fully responsible. The main responsibilities of the process owner in discharging his/her task are:*to listen to the \"voice of the customer\" and understand all customer requirements;*to share requirements relating to inputs with suppliers to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of supply lines; and*to monitor process performance in sufficient detail and at sufficient frequency to support improved decision-making and process control.To fulfil these responsibilities, the process owner must have relevant, accurate and timely information about process behaviour and performance. See Figure 2 for more detail.Another \"definitional\" problem is that the ISO 9000 family of standards does not include a definition of the term \"performance\" at all (even though the standards require process performance measurement). There can therefore be confusion when discussions take place with regard to approaches and indicators of process performance measurement.One useful definition is that from the EFQM Excellence Model (the latest 2003 version): where performance is defined as:[...] a level of attainment achieved by an individual, team, organization or process (EFQM, 2003).This leads to a description of process performance measurement as the monitoring of agreed performance indicators to identify whether a process meets planned targets.The term performance clearly relates to a range of other such terms and concepts such as: effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, yield, capability, quality (from the point-of-view of non-conformance scope), etc. These terms represent various dimension of performance! Process performance measurement is thus not a new type of measurement - on the contrary: this measurement can be based on previous measures of productivity, effectiveness and so on assuming that such existing measures fully comply with the core purpose of performance measurement: to offer relevant and objective data about the real behaviour of the process to the process owner.A common mistake about process performance measurement is to assume that it exists to satisfy the needs of external auditors and assessors as part of a compliance regime. This misses the whole point - and the whole value of - such measurement ... to improve performance.As the process owner is a \"customer\" for process performance measurement he/she must define the requirements of the measurement regime. It is important that we measure what we want to measure and not what we can easily measure.There is no common, systematic approach to establishing and developing process performance measurement, though the model in Figure 2 does offer a framework for such an approach.Key features of any measurement regime are:*validity: the indicators must express what counts objectively and the results must be accepted by the users (the process owners first of all);*completeness: the indicators must reflect all important aspects of process performance;*sufficient - but not too much - detail and accuracy (data gathering and analysis can consume a lot of time and resources - and this resource use must be commensurate with the value of the data provided);*sufficient measurement frequency: if measurement is not taken often enough, we obtain a distorted picture of real performance;*timeliness: the process owner must have access to performance data when he/she needs it; and*easily understood terms: certainly, all those being measured and all those using the measurement data should be able to explain any performance indicator.Those using measures and indicators must feel they are credible and trustworthy - and useful!The final issue is that there must be enough indicators or measures to give a comprehensive picture of performance but not so many that they overload and confuse the users of the measures.There are various types of measures and these are shown in Figure 3.The design of a performance measurement regime must cover all important processes within the company's operating framework. Some areas - such as manufacturing processes - may have been measured in detail for some time (cycle time, scrap rates, throughput levels, etc) and a company can learn a lot by examining these measures and seeing how they are used and which ones are particularly important.Other processes may not have been measured at all - especially the \"white collar\" processes of product design, sales, auditing, inspection and so on. Hopefully, we can learn from the measured processes so that we can start to apply appropriate measures and indicators to the non-measured processes.We can do this by applying a mix of what might be termed \"universal\" and \"specialist\" measures.Universal indicators are the types of measures that can be used for (almost) any process and include such measures as:*cycle time;*time of response;*nonconformities ratio;*Sigma capability;*level of process related cost; and*input yield, etc.Such indicators are valuable for all processes regardless of their function of complexity, number, etc.On the other hand, special indicators are those which apply to specific or only a small group of processes. Examples are:1. Process: product design and development:*time to release drawings and specifications;*number of technical changes at documentation; and*reworks and delay time caused by design failures, etc.2. Process: purchasing:*ratio of purchased items /deliveries) on time;*production delay caused by late deliveries;*inventory level;*total number of orders per year; and*purchase order errors, etc.The number of indicators/measures used for a given process is not important - what matters is that collectively they describe and explain the behaviour of the process.For measures to be really useful, it is important to have some idea of the value they should take - a \"target\" value ... and it is generally acknowledged that there should be correlation between such targets and overall company strategic aims and objectives, i.e. the measures should help us determine whether we are meeting - or likely to meet - these overarching strategic goals (See Figure 4).Alternative A can be applied at production companies with traditional (functional) organizational structures: the strategic goals are deployed through relevant organizational units and their activities and processes.Alternative B is applicable when management systems are derived from a strong orientation on the processes, and strategic and operational management is made through a framework of key and other processes. Such approaches are much less common but are seen in organisations that introduce measurement regimes based on the Balanced Scorecard system.The last - and perhaps most important - weakness discussed here is the inability of process owners to work effectively with the results (outputs) of process performance measurement.Remember, these outputs are designed to underpin such activities as:*conducting process auditing within the overall company management system;*conducting self-assessment of management system maturity;*process oriented benchmarking; and*evaluation of process improvement effectiveness and efficiency.The simplified procedure of core process monitoring and control supported by process performance measurement results is shown in Figure 5. This shows the value of measurement in understanding the current situation and in driving forward improvement.\nConclusion: This paper has described in simple terms both the value of process performance measurement and the factors that often lie behind its ineffectiveness. It seems that the fundamental concepts are understood but that there are difficulties in translating these concepts into practical measurement regimes. However, if we cannot do this we lose the benefits and opportunities provided by such measurement. Improving our ability to translate concept into operational reality provides a great challenge of us all.\n",
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},
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"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the weaknesses which result in the concept of process performance measurement being ineffectively translated into effective measurement and action regimes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In spite of the fact that process performance measurement is an obligatory requirement included in chapter 8 of the ISO 9001 standard, there are still a number of problems and weaknesses related to such measurement. The paper discusses these and some lessons learned from the author's personal experience (gained from auditing and self-assessment projects).\nFindings: - The paper highlights common weaknesses in implementing measurement regimes to monitor and control core processes.\nPractical implications: - The paper suggests areas and issues that organisations might consider to improve the way in which they adopt and exploit process performance measurement.\nOriginality/value: - The paper summarises the current state of practical process performance measurement with its attendant weaknesses.\n",
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The superfluousness of CSR in media organisations: Conclusions from public radio research in Poland
|
[
"Poland",
"Corporate social responsibility (CSR)",
"Polish media organizations",
"Polish public media"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Public organisations, including public media, follow some trends in management, such as, for example, New Public Management trend (NPM), which glorifies managerial methods and techniques applied in business. Imitating business, public organisations seem to lose their identity while prioritising efficiency, and they forget that the essence of their mission is to increase our common weal. Such an attitude is connected with promotion of controlling functions and the decrease in trust for employees. It leads to organisational isomorphism (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), that is namely to a situation when an institution becomes similar and follows a dominating type which enforces standardisation and, at the same time, liquidates a unique specificity and creativity of mimetic isomorphism in the realisation of public objectives. Mimetic isomorphism has appeared in public organisations during the times of uncertainty demonstrated in the surrounding environment, and the lack of their own abilities to solve problems demonstrated by some institutions. Imitation of other organisations, in this case: business organisations, which are able to manage their own uncertainty problems in a better way, was supposed to be a method for public administration to survive hard times (Batko, 2013).\nTheoretical background, development of hypotheses and methodology: The editors of one of the books on CSR note that an attempt of defining CSR is nothing else but navigating through the jungle of definitions (Crane et al., 2013, p. 5). Despite such a discouraging diagnosis, we would like to present a review of discussions and crucial methods of defining CSR, not forgetting about the fact that the social context of operations performed by an organisation is often referred to with the use of various notions: CSR, corporate citizenship and corporate sustainability (Benn and Bolton, 2011). Having in mind all the discussions which were held in the circles of American philanthropists in the nineteenth century, we would like to point out that the first modern definition of CSR, with an outline of scientific grounds for CSR definitions, was provided in 1953, by Bowen (2013) in his book The Social Responsibilities of the Businessman. Bowen notices that business operations affect common people, and therefore business should operate in accordance with the needs expressed by the society.\nSpecific character of media organisations: Specific character of media organisations is based on their social role, on responsibility of media which usually refers to respecting the right of free publication, to the damage incurred by individuals and the society because of publication, and positive (not only negative) aspects of publication. In Denis McQuail's (2003) definition, such responsibility refers to \"all voluntary and non-voluntary processes in which media are directly or indirectly responsible to their recipients for the quality and/or the results of publication\" (pp. 14-15). Hence, it refers, first of all, to the influence of media and of media products. The influence is related to the model of media understood as public weal. In this model citizens \"designate\" media to particular people in the act of trust - this idea is close to the concept of receivership (Kreft, 2015). Such servitude for the society is expressed, for example, in the concept of the public media \"mission\".\nThe specificity of polish public media: General specificity, which is common for all the media, is accompanied by the specificity of public media which in Poland are sole shareholder companies of the State Treasury. They try to combine maximisation of their audience and financial stability with fulfilment of their public mission.\nCSR in polish media: In Polish media market, all the leading media companies communicate and implement CSR, including the public Telewizja Polska SA and Polskie Radio SA.\nCSR - simulacra of social responsibility: In his famous book Simulacra and Simulation (1981/2005), Jean Baudrillard, arguments that simulacra displace the reality, the signs do not refer to anything but only to themselves, it is impossible to tell the original from its copy (e.g. in a reality show on TV), and even, as it is in the case of the Lascaux pictures - only a copy is presented within the distance of 500 metres from the secured original. For the visitors, such duplication means sending the original to the sphere of artificiality (Baudrillard, 2005). Duplication - a state in which simulacra created by media and the internet have the same - or sometimes ever greater - rights to exist than the reality outside our windows. Duplication makes us believe that images are equally real for us. The reality becomes a hyper-reality in which images are multiplied in isolation from facts and their significance; \"for a long time the power has not produced anything but signs of similarity to itself\" (Baudrillard, 2005, p. 33).\nFindings: The survey suggests that only one organisation implements CSR standards. Its CEO, however is mainly driven by business reasoning. He considers that \"it is an excellent tool to improve the image of the organisation in the advertisement market\" and \"a good way to present a radio company as a reliable business partner\".\nConclusions: CSR of media companies may be considered as fake operations performed most frequently within the frames of public relations activities. They are supposed to increase the brand value, and the efficiency of CSR is measured regarding the public relation aims, or aims connected with human resources management. In other words: the consumer-investor aspect of media operation contributes to the fact that CSR is perceived as apparently pro-social activity, which in fact aims at the increase in company value by improving its image as the product and service provider.\n",
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},
{
"content": "Purpose: However, the scale of corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation in Polish media organisations is diversified. The survey, which was conducted among the CEOs of some regional radio broadcast partnerships in Poland, indicates that only one of them has in fact accepted the CSR solutions. The majority of this group think there is no need to implement CSR because they consider it to be a duplication of the public media mission. Considering commercial media, all the biggest TV and radio stations apply CSR. The pressure is manifested by the fact that numerous media organisations - commercial and public ones - have accepted solutions of CSR. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To verify the hypotheses, a survey was conducted from January to June 2015, in 12 (out of 17) Polish regional radio stations (independent partnerships). The research was of quality character - each media organisation selected for the survey was a separate case study. To collect the required data, two research methods were applied: in-depth interviews with the radio station CEOs (N1-N12); analysis of organisation documents concerning the mission of public organisations. We assumed that an in-depth analysis of a fragment of the empirical material in the form of a case study comes as an element of universal experience, and it reflects the universe (Denzin and Lincoln, 2009).\nFindings: The survey suggests that only one organisation implements CSR standards. Its CEO, however is mainly driven by business reasoning. He considers that \"it is an excellent tool to improve the image of the organisation in the advertisement market\" and \"a good way to present a radio company as a reliable business partner\".\nResearch limitations/implications: A critical attitude to CSR in media organisations has a double source: generally, CSR is not adequate to all organisations; CSR multiplies social functions of a media organisation, and a role which it plays in the society. It comes as an immanent feature of the way how a media organisation functions in its basic dimension. As presented above, the attempt to define specific elements, which allow us to analyse the level of \"advance\" characteristic for a media organisation, drives us to a following conclusion: communication and implementation of the CSR standards seems natural in the context of such activities of media companies as placing orders (relations with business partners, internal policy of employment, etc.), however, it only comes as a confirmation of such expectations from media organisations which are connected with maintenance of journalist standards.\nPractical implications: As the survey of the CEOs of Polish public radio companies suggests, the problem of multiplying social responsibility of media refers, first of all, to public media. Majority of the executives considers CSR as duplication of fulfilling the public mission, and as some superfluous practice in public media.\nSocial implications: Considering this situation, it is possible to state that the concept of CSR, first of all, results from the presence of media entities in the market, where they compete mainly for the attention of listeners and advertisers. The consumer-investor dimension of media operations also contributes to the perception of CSR as the operation which is apparently pro-social, however which truly aims at increasing the company value by the improvement of its image as goods and service provider.\nOriginality/value: The source of acceptance for public media is a strong belief in social value of honest and competent information reporting and its contextualisation. At the same time, however, a basic deteriorating factor of media legitimisation is their transformation into market-oriented economy. Commodification of media means constant pressure to increase the role of \"business\" rhetoric and \"business\" solutions. The pressure is manifested by the fact that numerous media organisations - commercial and public ones - have accepted solutions of CSR.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Fostering service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior through reducing role stressors: An examination of the role of social capital
|
[
"Role conflict",
"Service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviour",
"Depersonalization",
"Social capital",
"Role ambiguity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Increased attention is being drawn to service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), as researchers gradually continue to apply and study the topic in the hospitality industry (Tang and Tsaur, 2016). OCB refers to optional, discretionary behaviors that are not required by employers but promote organizational efficiency and effectiveness (Bateman and Organ, 1983; Organ, 1988). Understanding its implications for the hospitality industry is crucial because service employees engaging in discretionary behaviors beyond the required job are valuable resources for the success of hospitality businesses. For instance, service employees with strong service-oriented OCB are not only likely to cope more effectively with customer expectations but also to help other co-workers perform their tasks well, ultimately leading to a higher quality of service. Ample studies have identified the benefits of OCB for individuals (Lyons and Scott, 2012; Whiting et al., 2008).\nLiterature review: Defining service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior\nResearch method: Questionnaire and sampling\nResults: Measurement model\nConclusions: This study examined the relationships among role stressors, depersonalization, social capital and service-oriented OCB in the hotel industry. Specifically, the current study explicated the direct link between both role stressors and service-oriented OCB. Furthermore, it provides important insights into the underlying process through which perceived role stressors (i.e. role ambiguity and role conflict) affect employees' proactive behaviors (service-oriented OCB) and when or under what condition role stress-depersonalization is alleviated.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine the influence of role stressors on service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) mediated by depersonalization, with a moderator of social capital.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A self-administered online survey was completed by 265 current hotel frontline employees in the USA.\nFindings: The study reveals that role ambiguity has a detrimental impact on service-oriented OCB. The results show that depersonalization is found to be a critical mediator that modifies the implications of both role ambiguity and role conflict for service-oriented OCB. Furthermore, the negative effect of role conflict on depersonalization is buffered by social capital.\nPractical implications: Hotel firms that would like to encourage employees to exert proactive behaviors in their jobs might benefit from developing an effective way to reduce role stressors in their jobs. However, given that such role stressors are inevitable in the workplace, hotel firms should place more emphasis on enhancing social capital as an effective way to manage role stressors in the workplace.\nOriginality/value: This study advances previous studies on role stressors and service-oriented OCB by addressing how and why role stressors influence employees' service-oriented OCB. This study incorporates advanced job demand-resource theory by identifying social capital as a critical job resource to buffer the detrimental impact of role conflict on depersonalization in the hotel context.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Leader evaluations: a new female advantage?
|
[
"Gender",
"Leadership",
"Transformational leadership",
"Transactional leadership"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Despite the expanded role of women in the workplace over the last three decades, the proportion of women continues to decline at progressively higher levels in managerial hierarchies (Catalyst, 2006; Powell, 1999); the higher the level in the organization, the fewer women are found. One of the early reasons offered for what Bartol (1978) called the \"sex structuring of organizations\" is that women are discriminated against when leaders are evaluated: behaviors exhibited by a male leader are evaluated more favorably than identical behaviors exhibited by a female leader. As a result, women face greater barriers to entering leader roles than men, and women who succeed in entering these roles find their competence and performance devalued (Eagly and Karau, 2002). Thus, sex effects[1] in leader evaluations may negatively affect the status of women in management (Bartol, 1978; Butterfield and Grinnell, 1999; Eagly and Karau, 2002). The purpose of this experimental study is to examine sex effects in evaluations of transformational and transactional leaders.Recent evidence from field studies has offered support for women as leaders. For example, Eagly et al. (2003) conducted a meta-analysis of sex differences in transformational and transactional leadership exhibited by actual leaders. Results indicated that women rated higher than men in most dimensions of transformational leadership and the contingent reward dimension of transactional leadership, all of which have been found to be positively related to leader effectiveness (Lowe et al., 1996); in contrast, men rated higher than women in other dimensions of transactional leadership (active and passive management by exception) that have been found to be either unrelated or negatively related to leader effectiveness (Lowe et al., 1996). These results have been interpreted as suggesting a \"female advantage\" in leadership, a notion that has been hotly debated among scholars (Eagly and Carli, 2003a, b; Vecchio, 2002, 2003). If behavior exhibited by a female leader was now evaluated more favorably than identical behavior exhibited by a male leader, we would seem to have evidence supporting a new female advantage in leadership. However, if behavior exhibited by a female leader was evaluated less favorably than the same behavior exhibited by a male leader as in prior research (Eagly et al., 1992; Nieva and Gutek, 1980), female leaders would seem to remain at a disadvantage in seeking positions at higher management levels (Bartol, 1978), even if they exhibited a predominance of behaviors linked to leader effectiveness.\nTheory: Three types of sex effects on leader evaluations may be argued:1. Men and women leaders, in general, are evaluated differently.2. Men and women leaders are evaluated differently for particular leadership styles.3. Men and women leaders are evaluated differently by male and female evaluators.Leader sex\nMethod: Sample\nResults: Prior to testing the hypotheses, we examined relationships between the three outcome variables and five demographic characteristics: university, race/ethnicity, age, employment status, and experience as a manager supervising others. None of these demographic characteristics was significantly related to any of the outcome variables. Therefore, no control variables were included in subsequent analyses. Table I presents descriptive statistics and correlations for the variables included in these analyses.Following earlier research (Bartol and Butterfield, 1976), to test the hypotheses, separate analyses of variance were conducted for evaluations of the leader depicted in the transformational leader vignette and the transactional leader vignette. In each case, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to assess the effects of leader sex, evaluator sex, and the interaction between leader sex and evaluator sex on evaluations. Tables II and III present a summary of the MANOVA results for each leadership style. Since scores of the three measures of leader evaluations - extra effort, satisfaction, and effectiveness - were statistically related (Table I), results of univariate analyses of variance (also reported in Tables II and III) on any one of these measures should be interpreted with caution. Nonetheless, univariate ANOVA results may provide insight into the nature of the significant MANOVA effects.Leader sex and leadership style\nDiscussion: Sex effects in evaluations of leaders who exhibited either a transformational leadership style or a transactional leadership style were examined in an experimental study. As hypothesized, part-time (evening) MBA students, most of whom worked full-time, evaluated female-transformational leaders in more positive terms than male transformational leaders on all three outcome measures. Also as hypothesized, students evaluated same-sex transformational leaders more positively than opposite-sex transformational leaders on all outcome measures; these interaction effects were attributable to female students' favoring of female-transformational leaders and not to male students' favoring of male transformational leaders. Overall, these results suggested a female advantage in evaluations of transformational leaders, especially when women were the evaluators. This advantage is above and beyond the advantage suggested by Eagly et al.'s (2003) meta-analysis of field research, which found that women exhibit a greater amount of transformational leader behaviors, which are positively associated with leader effectiveness (Lowe et al., 1996), than men do. In our study, women who exhibited transformational leader behaviors were evaluated more favorably than men who exhibited exactly the same behaviors, which would appear to grant female leaders an additional advantage. However, neither sex had an advantage when exhibiting transactional leader behaviors, as no effects of leader sex or evaluator sex on evaluations of transactional leaders were found.The effect of leader sex on evaluations favoring female-transformational leaders was contrary to what both social role theory (Eagly, 1987; Eagly et al., 2000) and status characteristics theory (Berger et al., 1985, 1998) would suggest. Predictions based on these theories assume the durability of traditional conceptions of gender roles and the leader role. It seems unlikely that the societal status assigned to women relative to men has been reversed (Ridgeway and Diekema, 1992). However, changes in the managerial roles of women vis-a-vis men and in conceptions of the leader role may have stimulated stereotype change (Eagly and Diekman, 2003; Rothbart, 1981) such that expectations for leaders are now more aligned with expectations for women than those for men (Duehr and Bono, 2006; Sczesny et al., 2004).Although the effect of the interaction between leader sex and evaluator sex on evaluations of transformational leaders favored same-sex leaders as expected, this effect was present only for female evaluators. Women may have had a vested interest in evaluating female leaders more favorably than male leaders because an improvement in perceptions of women as leaders could lead to increased status for people like themselves (Berger et al., 1985, 1998). However, a similar status-based argument may be made for why men would have had a vested interest in evaluating male leaders more positively than female leaders, which did not occur in this study. Further, female evaluators, especially those employed in organizations with low proportions of women in top management, could have distanced themselves from their own group and psychologically associated with a higher-status group by evaluating male leaders more favorably than female leaders (Ely, 1994).An alternative explanation for these results may be derived from a closer examination of social identity theory (Ashforth and Mael, 1989; Tajfel and Turner, 1986). Although people are assumed to identify with similar others (Williams and O'Reilly, 1998), they may be similar or dissimilar to others along several dimensions of diversity (e.g., sex, race, and class) and thereby have multiple social identities. When faced with conflicting social identities, individuals' assessments of similarity may be influenced by the dimensions that are most salient to them (Ashforth, 2001). In particular, sex may be more salient for women than men because it sometimes serves as a basis for discrimination against women but rarely against men (Wharton, 1992). As a result, women may be more likely than men to use sex similarity as a basis for social identification and thereby exhibit favoritism in their evaluations of same-sex leaders. This likelihood may be even greater for a leadership style - transformational - that is more role congruent for women than men (Eagly and Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001; Eagly et al., 2003).Why were the hypothesized sex effects in evaluations of transactional leaders not found? The explanation may reside in two complementary notions. First, the transformational leadership style may indeed be more strongly associated with women than men. Second, the transactional leadership style may not be as closely linked with men as the transformational leadership style is with women. Although the active and passive management by exception dimensions of transactional leadership are associated with the male gender role (Bass et al., 1996), the contingent reward dimension may be construed as consistent with either the feminine gender role because its emphasis on recognizing and praising good performance involves being attentive and considerate to subordinates (Eagly and Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001; Eagly et al., 2003) or the masculine gender role because it is mainly task oriented and represents a rational exchange process (Bass et al., 1996; Kark, 2004). Further, Eagly et al. (2003) found that actual female leaders were higher in contingent reward behaviors but lower in active and passive management by exception behaviors than actual male leaders, demonstrating inconsistency in the relationship between leader sex and dimensions of transactional behavior for actual leaders.These results suggest the need for re-evaluation of the theories that are commonly used to predict sex effects in leadership. Social role theory (Eagly, 1987; Eagly et al., 2000), role congruity theory (Eagly and Karau, 2002), and status characteristics theory (Berger et al., 1985, 1998) are based on traditional beliefs regarding social phenomena such as gender roles, the leader role, and status assessments that may be subject to modification over time (Eagly and Diekman, 2003). Further, the similarity-attraction paradigm (Byrne, 1971; Byrne and Neuman, 1992) and social identity theory (Ashforth and Mael, 1989; Tajfel and Turner, 1986) have not addressed the notion that processes by which women and men establish their similarity to and identification with others may vary due to differences in their societal and workplace experiences and thereby differentially influence their judgments (Ashforth, 2001; Wharton, 1992). We recommend that the theories that are invoked to predict sex effects in leader evaluations be extended to incorporate the:* malleability of the social phenomena on which predictions are based; and* unique experiences of the groups for which predictions are made.Extended theories should then be tested using alternative methods and populations.This study had several limitations. First, it focused on ratings of hypothetical leaders rather than real leaders. Although experimental research has the advantage of enabling strict control by the researcher over key variables that might confound the results in field settings (Griffin and Kacmar, 1991; Levy et al., 2002), it has the disadvantage of not focusing on leader behavior that has actually occurred. Second, since both transformational and transactional leadership consist of multiple dimensions (Bass, 1985; Bass and Avolio, 2000; Rafferty and Griffin, 2004), depicting the leader as either transformational or transactional on all dimensions in vignettes did not allow for leader differences along specific dimensions of each leadership style. Third, the transactional leader vignette may have been weaker than the transformational leader vignette as an experimental stimulus because it would be difficult for a leader to be simultaneously high or simultaneously low on the two management-by-exception dimensions (active and passive) of transactional leadership. Finally, important contextual factors that were either controlled or not addressed in the vignettes may have influenced leader evaluations. For example, in a poor performance setting such as that depicted, evaluators may have different expectations of how male vs female leaders would fare compared with a high-performance setting; also, evaluations of leaders may have been specific to the financial services sector that was depicted.In conclusion, the results of an experimental study in which either a male or female leader displayed either a transformational or transactional leadership style were intriguing. In particular, female-transformational leaders received more favorable evaluations than male leaders who exhibited exactly the same leadership style. These results do not resolve the heated debate about whether there is a female advantage in leadership (Eagly and Carli, 2003a, b; Vecchio, 2002, 2003). Instead, they may add fuel to the debate by suggesting a different kind of advantage for female leaders than the kind of advantage that has been debated in the past. We recommend extension of theories of gender and leadership to incorporate processes that might account for such results. In addition, we recommend further experimental as well as field research on sex effects in evaluations of leaders using different populations and work contexts to increase our understanding of the evolving relationship between gender and leadership.Overall, the results regarding transformational leaders suggest the continued presence of sex-related biases in leader evaluations, although in a different direction than that suggested by prior research (Eagly et al., 1992; Nieva and Gutek, 1980). The change in direction of such biases from pro-male to pro-female does not make them any more desirable. Organizations need to guard against sex-related biases of all types; workplace biases in judgments about others that favor either sex should be discouraged. Ideally, leaders who exhibit similar leader behavior and achieve similar results in similar settings will receive similar evaluations, regardless of whether they differ in sex or any other job-irrelevant demographic characteristic.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to examine sex effects in evaluations of transformational and transactional leaders.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A total of 459 part-time (evening) MBA students, most of whom worked full-time, read a vignette of either a male or female leader who exhibited either a transformational or transactional leadership style and then evaluated the leader's behavior.\nFindings: - Female-transformational leaders received more favorable evaluations than male-transformational leaders, especially from female evaluators. However, evaluations of transactional leaders did not differ according to leader sex, and male evaluators did not evaluate male and female leaders of either style differently.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Evaluators were enrolled in a part-time graduate program in management; hence, results may not be generalizable to other populations. In addition, the study focused on evaluation of hypothetical rather than actual leaders. The results suggest a female advantage in evaluations of transformational leaders, especially when women are the evaluators. Extension of theories of gender and leadership to account for such results and testing of the extended theories is recommended.\nPractical implications: - The results suggest the continued presence of sex-related biases in leader evaluations, although in a different direction than in prior research. Organizations need to take steps to discourage expression of such biases.\nOriginality/value: - Contrary to prior research, the results suggest that sex effects in leader evaluations now favor female leaders more than male leaders.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
"Welcome to The Shop": Insights and reflections from teaching hip-hop-based spoken word poetry for social justice
|
[
"English language arts",
"English teaching",
"Teaching writing",
"Literacy teaching",
"Hip-hop pedagogy",
"Urban education"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In Writing in Rhythm: Spoken Word Poetry in Urban Classrooms, Fisher (2007) frames spoken word poetry and rap music as literary and musical descendants of the blues and the African-American \"tradition of explanation\". Rooted in the \"investigative practices of everyday people\", Fisher (2007, p. 68) argues that this form of truth-telling is \"providing youth with a hip-hop ear an opportunity to reclaim poetry and use it to restore their faith in literacy learning\". Her study of how students and teachers reimagined literacy in an after-school writing community in the Bronx concluded that the discipline, skills, self-confidence and safety (physical and emotional) acquired in communities such as the \"Power Writers\" have proven successful in developing students psychologically and socially, as well as academically. Fisher (2007, p. 98) writes:\nTheoretical framework: Building on burgeoning bodies of research known as \"Hip-hop Based Education\" (HHBE) (Hill and Petchauer, 2013) and \"Hip-hop Literacy Studies\" (Alim, 2006; Fisher, 2007; Hill, 2009; Low, 2011; Richardson, 2006), this article is anchored in Alim's (2011, p. 120) work on the \"hybrid, transcultural linguistic and literacy practices of hip-hop youth\". \"Global ILL-literacies\" offers a theoretical framework that reconceptualizes hegemonic notions of language and literacy around the poetics and politics of hip-hop culture. The term ill-literacy reflects the poetics of hip-hop linguistic practices, namely, \"semantic inversion\" as \"the ill in ill-literacies refers not to a 'lack of literacy' but to the presence of skilled literacies\" (Alim, 2011, p. 122). Ill-literacy is defined by its use of coded language where \"wordplay quite deliberately creates multilayered, subtextual understandings for participants while at the same time producing potential confusion for non-participants\" (Alim, 2011, p. 122). In this vein, here, I use the neologism (w)righting to signify the \"multilayered\" purposes of The Shop: to write and \"right\", i.e. change, the word and the world.\nWelcome to The Shop: Study Context and Participants\nPedagogies with hip-hop aesthetics: Freestyling\n(W)righters as Wounded Healers: Based on the writings and discussions that came out of the Poetry Ain't [...] piece, many students already recognized the therapeutic value of writing poetry before entering The Shop. With that said, almost all of the students were careful about exposing their emotional wounds, or strengths and weaknesses as writers, to \"outsiders\". In The Shop, a storytelling community of \"wounded healers\" coalesced around a safe, intimate space rooted in common individual experiences of marginalization in school, in their homes, and in larger society.\n\"Spread the Word\": Reading a poem to their fellow (w)righters in the friendly confines of The Shop was one thing. \"Droppin' science\", or performing their poems for an audience of college students and professors, rising sixth graders at their former elementary school, and/or members of the school board was another. Over the course of 16 weeks, some, but not all, of the anxiety associated with public speaking was replaced with a shared responsibility to speak on behalf of youth who are silenced by the discourses that impact them the most. The performances empowered students to \"spread the word\" about the wounding and healing taking place in their school and community.\nImplications: Pressing questions persist regarding the role, purpose, and function of hip-hop ELA pedagogies such as those described above fit in this era of Common Core. In-service teachers, especially those working in urban districts and schools like \"East\" and \"West\", where the cultural and achievement gaps are most prominent, are faced with unprecedented curricular constraints. Obviously, the social action approaches to teaching and learning spoken-word poetry described here were implemented in spaces outside the reach of Common Core. Nevertheless, I argue that the findings are salient for in-service teachers as they provide a template for \"augmenting or overhauling\" existing curriculum and instruction. My hope is that in-service teachers realize that hip-hop culture and pedagogy are so much more than just rap music and textual analysis (Hall, 2016). Expanding the notions of hip-hop culture and pedagogy to include teaching and learning with hip-hop aesthetics expands the potential to enhance the cultural relevance of not only what we teach, but also how and why we teach it.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the ways in which hip-hop pedagogies and literacies encouraged middle school students to explore performance poetry as a tool to \"(w)right\" the truth(s) about learning and living in their local and global communities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Collaborative self-study research methodologies were used by the author, a black male teacher educator and hip-hop cultural insider, along with two white, female reading specialists and hip-hop cultural outsiders, to collect and analyze the practices and behaviors used in The Shop - an after-school hip-hop-based spoken word poetry club for middle school students in a small, urban public school district in Northeastern USA.\nFindings: Three primary findings emerge: teachers with limited cultural and content knowledge of hip-hop may struggle to negotiate real and perceived curricular constraints associated with using pedagogies with hip-hop texts and aesthetics in traditional school contexts, the intersections of teachers' racial, cultural and gender identities informed the respective practices and behaviors in a number of interesting ways, and using hip-hop pedagogies for social justice in public schools requires a delicate balance of both transparency and discretion on the part of teachers.\nOriginality/value: Study findings are salient for in- and pre-service English teachers and English educators, as they offer insights and reflections on the instructional and relational challenges cultural outsiders may face when using hip-hop culture to create spaces and opportunities for young people to talk back and speak truth to power.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Why do users intend to continue using the digital library? An integrated perspective
|
[
"Continuance intention",
"Digital library",
"Expectation-confirmation model",
"Technology acceptance model",
"Updated DeLone and McLean information system success model"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Nowadays, the digital library has led to tremendous changes in the provision of knowledge and resources (Jeong, 2011; Shuva, 2012), it can provide users with much easier access to a wide variety of digital materials, and allow them to quickly search, browse, and retrieve approved digital contents at remote locations around the world at any time according to their own needs (Park et al., 2009; Jeong, 2011). To date, the level of continuing interests for the digital library has grown steadily as a much greater number of institutions, it has been promoted to various levels of users (Park et al., 2009; Jeong, 2011), and has been accepted and used by its intended users (Jeong, 2011). Noteworthily, while users' initial acceptance of the digital library is the first step towards achieving its success, its eventual success may depend on continued usage (Jeong, 2011). However, far less emphasis has been placed upon understanding whether users intend to continue using the digital library after having initially accepted it. Further, providing users with high-quality digital libraries has increasingly become a key concern in institutions, but research on quality factors that affect users' continuance intention of the digital library has rarely been conducted (Lagzian et al., 2013). Hence, this study conducted a survey to examine whether quality factors affected users' continuance intention of the digital library.\nTheoretical background, hypotheses, and research model: The outline of the digital library usage\nMethodology: Measures and pre-test\nResults: Descriptive characteristics of the usable respondents\nDiscussions: First, this study's results confirmed that information relevance, system accessibility, and interface design contributed significantly to PU, confirmation, and PEOU, which together explained students' satisfaction with the usage of the digital library, and this in turn led to their continuance intention of the digital library. Unquestionably, more retrieved resources in the digital library pertinent to users' needs may make their experience using the digital library more useful, confirmable, and easier to use (Thong et al., 2002; Roca et al., 2006; Park et al., 2009). Thus institutions may provide users with more abundant, updated regularly, and learner-centered resources taking their needs into account to enhance their usage benefits of the digital library. Next, it is essential to prevent users from experiencing inefficient and difficult access to the digital library that is too time-consuming (Park et al., 2009), and provide users with available technical instructions and supports in accessing the digital library. All these efforts can help users access the digital library more easily and subsequently increase their satisfaction and continuance intention of the digital library. Besides, a clear, straightforward, and accessible user interface should be designed in a way that it is efficient for users to find the materials they need (Thong et al., 2002; Cho et al., 2009; Jeong, 2011), such an elegant user interface will make users' experience using the digital library more useful, confirmable, and easier to use. Thus, system designers may design the user interface of the digital library in meaningful ways by having different contents separated with different image headers, decorative fonts, colors, and graphical buttons.\nImplications: As for antecedents to student beliefs, three implications are particularly worth mentioning. First, information relevance is the most pivotal antecedent that can significantly affect students' PU of the digital library. The result implicates that users may depend more on quality of information offered by the digital library in judging its usefulness. Because high relevance of information provided by the digital library will successfully provide users with information they are requesting and reduce the complexity that users may suffer for huge data processing, it is the most key concern for the design of the digital library to effectively facilitate users to be intrigued to search more information within the digital library when they assess the digital library to be able to provide the information they need (Park et al., 2009; Jeong, 2011). Next, system accessibility is the most dominant antecedent that can overwhelmingly affect students' PEOU of the digital library. The result implicates that users may rely more on quality of accessibility offered by the digital library in judging its ease of use. Because greater accessibility will lead to more frequent use of the digital library, whereas lower accessibility may make users perceive it as difficult to use (Park et al., 2009; Jeong, 2011). It is the most important concern for the design of the digital library to effectively improve the access barriers to the digital library, because gaining easy-to-use access to the digital library is the starting point to using it (Thong et al., 2002; Park et al., 2009; Jeong, 2011). Finally, technical support can make the greatest impact on students' levels of confirmation of expectations towards the digital library. The result implicates that technical supports for the digital library provided by the librarians can be the most crucial when it comes to the extent to which users' pre-acceptance expectations are confirmed. The reason for this may be that users' perceived technical support quality for the digital library provided by the librarians can make their pre-acceptance expectations for the digital library meet post-acceptance usage, which in turn can lead to a high level of confirmation of expectations towards the digital library.\nConclusions: This study's research model incorporates ECM, TAM, and updated DeLone and McLean IS success model to provide a more complementary understanding of users' continuance intention of the digital library than either theory considered alone. Two contributions are particularly worth mentioning. First, the application of ECM with the updated DeLone and McLean IS success model reveals deep insights into quality evaluation in the field of users' continuance intention of the digital library. Especially to deserve to be mentioned, this study additionally contributes to the identification of interface features that may lead to users' continuance intention of the digital library. Hence, five types of quality factors, information relevance, system accessibility, technical support, interface design, and navigation, as antecedents to user beliefs should be simultaneously taken into consideration in the theoretical development of users' continuance intention of the digital library to acquire a more comprehensive and robust analysis. Next, while ECM is shown to have good predictive validity for continued IS/IT intention, simply focusing on the effects of users' single utilitarian perception (i.e. PU) on their continued IS/IT intention may not be enough (Hong et al., 2006; Thong et al., 2006). It should be noted that the constructs of ECM can be combined with other synergistic variables in predicting continued IS/IT intention (Hong et al., 2006). In this study, the empirical evidence on capturing both ECM and TAM for completely explaining quality antecedents of users' continuance intention of the digital library is well documented. Hence, this study's empirical evidence has significantly shed light on the possible formulation of a richer post-adoption model.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a hybrid model based on expectation-confirmation model (ECM), technology acceptance model (TAM), and updated DeLone and McLean information system (IS) success model to examine whether quality factors as the antecedents to user beliefs affected users' continuance intention of the digital library.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Sample data for this study were collected from students enrolled in a comprehensive university in Taiwan. A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed in the campus library, and 525 (87.5 percent) usable questionnaires were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in this study.\nFindings: Findings show that the proposed research model integrating ECM, TAM, and updated DeLone and McLean IS success model has good explanatory power for quality antecedents of users' continuance intention of the digital library. Information relevance, system accessibility, and technical support play key roles in explaining users' continuance intention of the digital library via their beliefs.\nOriginality/value: This study's empirical evidence on capturing ECM, TAM, and updated DeLone and McLean IS success model reveals deep insights into quality evaluation for users' continuance intention of the digital library. Especially, this study additionally contributes to the identification of interface features that may lead to users' continuance intention of the digital library.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Stumped! The limits of global governance in a commercialized world of cricket
|
[
"Governance",
"Sports",
"Accountability",
"Institutional logics",
"Non-western"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The rapid commercialisation of modern-day games has increased demands on sporting organisations to become more effective and accountable in order to reduce the potential for abuse by self-serving, powerful individuals/interest groups. This has led to such organisations becoming more formalised in their operating rules and procedures, and taking on various governance structures in relation to the composition, size and independence of their governing boards and committees (Taylor and O'Sullivan, 2009). Such developments have served to stimulate debate surrounding the operational functioning of accountability and governance structures at the club level of sporting organisations, albeit with a visibly prominent emphasis on the game of football (e.g. Cooper and Johnston, 2012; Risaliti and Verona, 2012; Acero et al., 2017). Collectively, these studies have questioned the operation and consequences of governance mechanisms, showing for instance, how various mechanisms of accountability served primarily to maintain and enhance the positions of the most powerful. Other studies (e.g. Andon and Free, 2012) have explored the capacity of governance mechanisms, such as auditing, within sports organisations to deal with challenging organisational crises. Our paper adds to this developing literature by drawing on the debates from the global governance and accounting literature and analysing both the national and global governance reforms that have been undertaken in cricket. We consider the importance of global governance both for our understanding of the relationship between governance processes and the developing nature of the game of cricket. We examine if governance can be viewed as a solution/management response to commercialisation of the game. In doing so, we question the consequences of the belief that is contemporarily being placed on governance processes.\n2. Global governance, commercialisation and the dominance of the few: experience drawn from accounting research: The term \"global governance\" is now widely used to describe the growing importance of transnational governance (Weiss and Wilkinson, 2018). Scholte (2002) observes that with the significant increase in global financial transactions and their potential impact on world citizens, the financial arena has been significantly affected by the process of globalisation. Humphrey and Loft (2009) note how global accounting bodies, such as the International Accounting Standards Board, are frequently used as an example of non-state organisations involved in globalisation by researchers from different disciplines (Woods, 2002; Perry and Nolke, 2006). An interesting feature of this multidisciplinary research is the adoption of analytical perspectives that emphasise the importance of studying the structures and mechanisms through which notions of transparency via global governance is constructed. This insight is important for us as we try to understand what is happening in terms of the global governance of cricket. By drawing on the specific case of cricket governance we provide a micro and specific form of theorising that could help explain individual institutional behaviour within the broader framing around the rise of global governance.\n3. The institutional logics of global governance: For the purpose of this research, we use institutional theory as the framework of analysis. The use of institutional theory to understand the dynamics of globalisation is not novel. Rather, a number of studies have adopted the institutional lens to understand how dominant governance regimes are diffused globally (Guillen, 2001; Meyer et al., 1997). Arnold (2009) notes that in response to the limitations of the market-based approach, many accounting researchers have turned to institutional theory as an alternative framework for exploring the dynamics of globalisation. Although the initial focus of institutional theory was on isomorphic behaviour of organisations in response to cultural rationalisation (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), recent developments have concentrated mostly on the effects of institutional logics on individuals and organisations in a larger variety of contexts (Friedland and Alford, 1991; Thornton and Ocasio, 1999; Scott et al., 2000).\n4. Methodology: Empirical data for this research comprised of various documentary evidence collected from important cricket archives. This included a variety of official investigations into the governance standards and practices in cricket, www.espncricinfo.com - cricket's premier website, as well as information from newspapers and online media. Data regarding corporate governance structures of the ICC as well as the NCBs of various member-states were collected from the respective annual reports and websites of these organisations. Data from multiple sources were also collected for analysing the national-level corporate governance frameworks adopted by the full member states of the ICC. Another important source of information were reports on cricket governance, such as the Woolf report (ICC, 2012); the Transparency International's (TI) report (TI, 2013) on cricket corruption, the Crawford and Carter Governance review (CA, 2011) in Australia and the CARICOM panel review (CWI, 2015) in the West Indies. Reports from various probe committees set up to investigate allegations of cricket corruption in different countries were also used, such as the IPL Probe Committee (2014) report , and report by the Justice Lodha Panel in India (Supreme Court Committee, 2015).\n5. Global governance of cricket: the emergence of a dominant commercial logic: 5.1 The Imperial Cricket Council: embedded on the logics of imperialism\n6. Cricket's contemporary global governance: 6.1 Financial reforms within the ICC: the Big Three model\n7. The governance of cricket boards at the national level: From time to time, the ICC issues best practice guidelines regarding codes of conduct and ways, for example, of countering corruption. If these best practice guidelines are adopted by the ICC council, it becomes obligatory for the NCB's to implement such guidelines (www.thedailystar.net/news/bcb-and-iccs-new-governance-regime). As mentioned before, the ICC currently has 12 full members. Table II presents a list of the 12 full members, in order of their admission into the ICC as a full member.\n8. Discussion and conclusion: The primary objective of this paper was to analyse the changing nature of and pressures on corporate governance processes in the global and national cricketing arena, and to consider their importance, both for our understanding of the subject area and future research implications. The global game of cricket provides an interesting research site for this purpose. Unlike other global games, cricket has an imperialistic root, undergoing the process of globalisation in relatively recent times. The global economic and power base of cricket has also visibly shifted from the West to the East, giving an opportunity to study the development and dissemination of governance process led by non-West initiatives. We adopted an institutional perspective to investigate the presence of competing logics with the ICC and NCBs with a view to study the trend of commercialisation in the game. The institutional lens is also used to explore the efficacy of global governance mechanisms in mitigating the effects of the commercialisation in cricket.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the shifting nature of governance reforms, both at global and national levels, in the increasingly commercialised game of cricket. The authors explore the inter-relationship and linkages between governance and commercialism, and in the process, question the contemporary reliance placed on governance as a generic counter-commercialist force and accountability aid.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on a comprehensive analysis of cricketing archives, newspapers and online media. The authors specifically utilise a range of review reports, governance and accounting information from annual reports and websites of the International Cricket Council (ICC) as well as different national cricket governing bodies (NCBs).\nFindings: The paper vividly demonstrates the importance of recognising the specific significance of different cultural traditions and modes of organising - and not presuming a particular form of impact. The findings highlight that the adoption of a dominant market logic by cricket administrators has resulted in a shift in the balance of power in favour of non-western nations. India has emerged as the clear leader and driving force shaping the way cricket is globally governed. The consequences have been profound but not in terms of delivering, enhanced standards of transparency and accountability. Drawing on institutional theory, the paper argues that the scale of the Board of Cricket Control of India's financial and operational control over the ICC has not only led to an increasingly commercialised game but engendered divergent and highly questionable standards of governance at the level of NCBs.\nOriginality/value: Unlike other global games, cricket has an imperialistic root, and has gone through the process of globalisation in relatively recent times. Also, the commercialisation of cricket has resulted in the global economic and power base shifting from the West to the East, giving us the opportunity to study the dynamics between commercialisation and governance in a quite different globalisation context that allows an assessment to be made of the culturally contingent nature of governance as a substantive organising force.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Re-conceptualizing the role of organizations in society: challenging the status quo using organizational development
|
[
"Human resource management",
"Organization development",
"Brutalization of the workplace",
"Humanistic values",
"Muscular entrepreneurialism",
"Socio-humanistic"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nPurpose: This paper argues that the socio-humanistic values of Organizational Development (OD) practice have the potential to challenge why organizations exist. It is proposed that Capitalist ideology prevents organizations from pursuing an ethical and values driven agenda that furthers the health and well-being of employees if it conflicts with the short term delivery of return on investment.\nIntroduction: The banking crisis of 2008 and resulting global recession have provided the opportunity for a discourse into the appropriateness of Capitalism and whether the economic agenda is the right agenda for organizations to follow. There is a dichotomy between, the cultural perception of Capitalism, with regards to freedom, equality and democracy and the reality of the \"profit before people\" societal output of the Western economic and political systems. However a new paradigm is emerging, leading to an increasing popularity of OD, with its socio-humanistic methodology and \"people first\" value system (Foster, 2013).\nThe conflict between OD and the economic agenda: Douglas Holmes refers to \"Fast Capitalism\" (Holmes, 2002), as the pursuit of short-term profit at the expense of long-term measures. The focus of the economic agenda is on delivering quarterly results and shareholder value. OD methodologies realign the strategic ambition, by requiring the organization to invest in developing people capability and focusing on long-term sustainable organizational effectiveness. The focus of OD on humanistic values, promotes moral and ethical responses to turbulent change, which may result in choices that conflict with the focus of Fast Capitalism.\nChallenging the organizational agenda using OD: The emerging pursuit of sustainability and organizational effectiveness by organizations requires a reconceptualization of the role of the organization in regards to the potential of its workforce, the wider contribution it can make to society, and the external costs created by its operations.\nConclusion: By applying OD methodology to an organizational change project there is the potential to challenge the reason why an organization following an economic agenda exists in the first place. Perhaps the dominance of the economic agenda is under threat. Our world is on the cusp of a shift in thinking regarding the challenges that face humanity. In this era of turbulent change, OD is uniquely placed in regards to its humanistic value system, its recognized effectiveness and its growing popularity, to have a fundamental role in changing societal, ideological and organizational norms.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper seeks to contribute to the growing body of work regarding alternatives to the current economic agenda pursued by organizations in Western economies. In particular it explores how to practice Organizational Development (OD) if it challenges the reason why organizations exist in the first place.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper takes the form of a theoretical paper that explores the extant literature and maps out the theoretical positioning, the paper's argument and the model it proposes.\nFindings: The paper argues that the pursuit of an economic agenda by organizations is fundamentally flawed in delivering organizational effectiveness, long-term shareholder value and releasing the potential of employees in the workplace. The article reviews the socio-humanistic values of organizational development practice and argues that OD methodology should be used to question why organizations exist in the first place, challenge the status quo, and values as well as an economic basis for decision making.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper is written from a Western organizational perspective\nPractical implications: OD Methodology should expand the agenda that organizations follow and any OD change effort must begin with questioning why an organization exists in the first place.\nOriginality/value: Provides the invitation to those delivering OD to take the opportunity to reshape the purpose of the organizations in which they work.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Corporate governance code comparison for South Asian emerging economies
|
[
"Corporate governance",
"Corporate governance codes",
"CG guide of UN",
"Combined code",
"Corporate governance codes of Pakistan",
"Bangladesh and India"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Organisations adopt corporate governance (CG) to improve their governance system. Investors recognised the need for a new governance tool following the collapse of various large companies in the past two decades (Solomon, 2013). Consequently, investors had pressurised regulators to develop a new mechanism that ensures the protection of their investment in the corporate sector. As a result, the UK regulators established the Cadbury Committee in 1992 for developing the new system to protect the stakes of various stakeholder groups. Sir Aderian Cadbury chaired the Cadbury Committee and defined CG as \"the system by which companies are directed and controlled\" (Cadbury, 1992). The committee gave three important recommendations related to the board: separating the role of CEO and Chairman, at least three non-executive directors (NEDs) should be appointed to the board and the establishment of the audit committee (Dedman, 2002).\n2. Methodology: This study is exploratory and is based on the comparison of CG codes of three countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh and India) with the UN guide on good CG disclosure practices. This study will also identify the similar points of the three codes with the requirements of CC because CC has 100 per cent convergence with the CG guide of UN and it also includes some vital CG mechanisms that are not included in the CG guide of UN. Another motive for this comparison is that the CG codes of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India include some CG mechanisms that are only included in the CC as the regulators of these three countries have used CC as the guide for generating the CG codes for their countries. The nature of the data used for analysis is qualitative. Multiple case study approach is adopted that is focused on countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Content analysis is used for the data analysis. For the analysis, different documents are used as the analysis is based on the review of literature and documents. The following CG codes are used that were issued by the regulators in these three countries:\n3. Corporate governance practices in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India: The following section is providing the discussion on the CG practices of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.\n4. Data analysis and discussion on findings: The CG codes of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India are compared against 52 CG disclosure items that were given in the CG good practice guide of UN. Table AI highlights the results of the comparison. Convergence to the CG disclosure item with the CG code of each country is given a score of 1 otherwise a score of 0 will be given.\n5. Conclusion: The aim of the study was to compare the codes of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India with the CG good practices guide of UN issued in 2011. The study is based on the qualitative data and content analysis is used to analyse the data. The UN guide is divided into five main sections, which are further subdivided into 52 items. For the analysis, Pakistani CG code was used, issued by Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan in 2012. The result of the analysis has shown that there is around 77 per cent convergence (40 similar items) of the Pakistani CG code with the CG good practices guide of UN.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the corporate governance (CG) codes of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh with the CG guide of United Nations (UN) and to identify the similar points of these codes with the requirements of Combined Code (CC) that are not included in the CG guide of UN.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study is based on the qualitative data, while content analysis is used for the analysis. For this exploratory research, different documents have been reviewed and consulted and qualitative data are collected from those. A multiple case study approach is adopted because the codes of three countries (four CG codes used for the analysis) have been reviewed.\nFindings: This study has presented that the Pakistani and Bangladeshi (issued by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute) CG code has approximately 77 per cent convergence (40 out of 52), Indian CG code has 50 per cent convergence (26 out of 52), whereas the Bangladeshi (issued by Bangladesh Security and Exchange Commission) CG code has approximately 41 per cent convergence (21 out of 52) to CG guide of UN. Seven similar points to CC have been found out in all four or few of the codes that were used in this study.\nOriginality/value: This study has explored the convergence of CG codes of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India with the CG guide of UN. Furthermore, this study has highlighting the similar mechanisms presented in CC and the codes of selected countries so international investors get clear information about the quality of these codes and take informed investment decision.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The relationship between TQM and SMEs' performance: The mediating role of organizational culture
|
[
"Organizational culture",
"Manufacturing sector",
"TQM",
"KSA",
"SMEs’ performance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: With the rapid expansion of the global economy, organizations are facing increasing pressure to achieve and maintain operational excellence to improve their overall performance and competitiveness (Kirkham et al., 2014; Zakuan et al., 2010; Ismail Salaheldin, 2009). Globally, firms also continuously face a changing competitive market, with increased focus on improvement in productivity, quality, customer satisfaction, technological innovation, political and economic uncertainties and changing organizational culture (OC) (Maheshwari and Vohra, 2015; Prajogo and McDermott, 2005). More than at any other time, firms today can no longer rely on their current business processes in a highly competitive marketplace (Ebrahimi and Sadeghi, 2013). To survive, they need to adopt and implement new operation management practices which have been successful over the years (Zakuan et al., 2010). One of the most popular forms of modern operations management practice is total quality management (TQM), which has gained widespread attention from both industry and academics over the last two decades (e.g. Panuwatwanich and Nguyen, 2017; Valmohammadi and Roshanzamir, 2015; Herzallah et al., 2014; Samson and Terziovski, 1999).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Research gap\n3. Methodology: As specified above, this research focusses on investigating the direct and indirect impact of TQM on SMEs' performance, mediated through OC. A cross-sectional study design and a quantitative methodological approach were used, with a questionnaire designed to collect data from respondents (Kerlinger and Lee, 2000). The owners/managers were selected as the most suitable respondents because they have the most knowledge and experience regarding their firms' strategies; overall operational activities, the core of the strategic decision-making process and can give the most reliable information relating to the firm's profile and performance (Arham et al., 2017; Chung-Wen, 2008). The population in this study consisted of 5,820 manufacturing firms (Ministry of Commerce and Investment, 2016). Manufacturing SMEs were selected as the target population because they contribute most significantly to the development of this sector in KSA (Alkhoraif and McLaughlin, 2018). Based on Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) guidelines, the samples size was determined as 361. According to Hair et al. (2008), in order to solve the non-response issue and to reduce error, the initial sample size should be doubled (722 questionnaires). Equally, the sample size should be within the range of five to ten times the number of study variables in multivariate research (Hair et al., 2010). The cluster sampling technique was used in this study as it has advantages such as cost, accuracy, simplicity, lack of bias and the ability to obtain generalizable results. A self-administered questionnaire was conducted with the help of research assistants, to gather data from the owners/managers of manufacturing SMEs operating in the Riyadh, Mecca and Eastern regions of KSA.\n4. Statistical analysis and results: Questionnaires were sent to the owner/manager of 722 manufacturing SMEs. In total, 371 were returned, of which 364 were usable and found to be valid for further analysis after removal of outliers. The final rate of response was 50.4 per cent of the population. The survey was conducted from early May to the end of October 2017, and during the data collection period statistical analysis to detect errors in all the constructs was applied.\n5. Discussion, contributions, implications and suggestions: Firms implementing a TQM strategy achieve better performance than firms without TQM implementation (Terziovski and Samson, 1999). Prior studies examining the effect of TQM on performance produced different findings. Based on the research framework examined and supported in this research, analysis confirmed that TQM may improve OC based on the CVF, in turn enhancing performance. In keeping with this, the study argues that TQM alone was insufficient. The mediation structure adopted explains the mechanism by which TQM is related to SME performance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to investigate the mediating role of OC in the relationship between TQM and SMEs' performance in the KSA context. Therefore, the current research has established the path along which TQM affects SMEs' performance through the intervention of OC.\n6. Conclusion, limitations of study and suggestions for future study: Like all empirical studies, the current research is not free from limitations which might influence the results; however, such constraints present an opportunity for future study. One constraint is the use of a cross-sectional data design for the survey, with data gathered on a single occasion. These data only indicate the level of the link between constructs, although causal relations can be suggested on the basis of these findings, they may not be accurate. Consequently, this study strongly recommends future researchers to use a longitudinal approach in investigating the effect of TQM on SMEs' performance. A quantitative method was used here, but a different methodology such as interviews with SMEs managers/owners would assist their understanding of how to implement TQM successfully, or explain why some SMEs have not yet adopted TQM.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the association between total quality management (TQM) and small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) performance. In particular, it examines whether organizational culture (OC) has a mediating effect on the TQM-SME performance relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The conceptual model for this study was developed based on the literature review of TQM, OC and SME performance. As the research framework, a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from managers/owners of SMEs in the Riyadh, Mecca and Eastern regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The instrument was evaluated for its validity and reliability. A structural equation model was designed to examine the relationships, using PLS 3.0.\nFindings: Statistical outcomes add to the literature through displaying a positive direct effect of TQM and OC on SMEs' performance, and a significant and positive indirect effect of TQM on SMEs' performance through OC.\nResearch limitations/implications: The quantitative cross-sectional research design investigated a sample of manufacturing SMEs. Future research could use qualitative techniques or a case study approach for further information analysis.\nPractical implications: The findings of this research provide insights into SMEs' owners/managers in today's dynamic manufacturing environment, focussing on TQM as a mechanism for improving their performance. The results can help SMEs by providing guidance on OC, because of its effect on the successful implementation of TQM, therefore improving the level of performance.\nOriginality/value: The research extends the literature of TQM with a comprehensive understanding of TQM from the perspective of SMEs in Saudi Arabia. It fills the gap in empirical studies that investigate the joint effect of TQM and OC on SMEs' performance. This paper highlights the theoretical contribution and managerial implications as well as making recommendations for future research.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Lending terms, financial literacy and formal credit accessibility
|
[
"Development",
"SMEs",
"Uganda",
"Literacy",
"Access to formal credit",
"Lending terms"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Development theory emphasises the importance of access to finance in overcoming income inequality and achievement of growth (Pande et al., 2012). According to Pande et al. (2012) the inability to access financial services prevents consumption and investments thus limiting growth opportunities. By having access to finance poor people can get out of the poverty cycle. The financial inclusion of the poor will ultimately lead to higher incomes hence removing inequalities. Prior studies also indicate a positive relationship between the availability of finance and economic growth. For example, Butkiewicz and Yanikkaya (2005) in a study of the effects of IMF lending indicate that IMF lending stimulates growth in primarily by increasing investment. Economic models by Bencivenga and Smith (1991) and Greenwood and Jovanovic (1990) also suggest a positive relationship between financial intermediation and economic growth. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In the quest to improve access to formal credit by SMEs, most commercial banks have recently included SMEs in their portfolios through their micro lending schemes (Kakuru, 2008). In spite of this initiative, SMEs continue to borrow less often from commercial banks. According to Heikkila et al. (2009) out of 1,128 SMEs in Uganda that applied for loans, only 179 SMEs were successful. Moreover, the World Bank investment climate survey (2007) cited in Kakuru (2008) revealed that 41.2 per cent of small enterprises were credit constrained and only 24.8 per cent received loans from banks. The survey also indicated that 28.2 per cent of medium enterprises were credit constrained and only 32 per cent had received loans from banks. Ironically, evidence suggests that most SMEs in Uganda rely more on the informal credit than the formal and yet the informal sources have left them with insufficient capital to grow and expand (Mutesasira et al., 2001; Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2007; Stevenson and St-Onge, 2005; Aryeetey, 2008).\nLiterature review and hypotheses development: Definition of terms\nFinancial literacy: According to Wachira and Kihiu (2012) financial literacy remains an interesting issue in both developed and developing economies, and has elicited much interest in the recent past with the rapid change in the finance landscape. Mounting evidence indicates that the less financially literate are likely to face more challenges with regard to debt management, savings and credit, and are less likely to plan for the future. Such evidence suggests that there is a certain relationship between financial literacy and access to formal credit. For example, the study by Miller et al. (2009) indicates that lack of financial literacy is often tied to lack of access to financial products including credit or failure to use them even when they are available. Beck et al. (2007) argued that if individuals are not familiar or comfortable with products, they will not demand them. Calvert et al. (2005) also argue that households with high-financial literacy and greater financial sophistication are more likely to participate in risky assets' markets and invest more efficiently. Other studies (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 2006, Johnson, 2004; Kidwell and Turrisi, 2004) confirm the view that financial literacy explains variances in access to credit by borrowers. Moreover, Lusardi and Tufano (2008) and Stango and Zinman (2009) also state that households with low levels of financial literacy tend to borrow at higher interest rates and participate less in the formal financial system relative to their more financially literate counterparts. Kimuyu and Omiti (2000) indicate that expansion of educational opportunities including promotion of self-financing adult literacy classes in trading centres increase access to credit. Cole et al. (2009) found that higher financial literacy is significantly associated with greater use of bank services suggesting that financial literacy strongly influences banking behaviour. Cole et al. (2009) reinforce earlier findings of Hilgert et al. (2003) that a strong link between financial knowledge and financial behaviour subsists. Hilgert et al. (2003) aver that individuals with lower levels of financial literacy may have lower levels of education, be less interested in financial matters, be poorer, or have different discount rates. This implies that the level of an individual's financial knowledge tends to influence attitudes that in turn affect the individual's financial behaviours (Chen and Volpe, 1998). Kidwell and Turrisi (2004) study indicates that individuals with better financial knowledge keep detailed financial records and have more access to credit than their counter parts who do not keep financial records and are financially illiterate. Chen and Volpe (1998) found that groups who are more knowledgeable regulate their spending patterns and decisions by keeping detailed financial records. Also anecdotal evidence shows that banks will usually require financial statements from a borrower in order to make a decision on the borrower's loan application.\nMethodology: We utilised a sample of 384 SME owners or managers drawn from Kampala's five divisions proportionately. Kampala is the capital city of Uganda, East Africa. Most of the respondents (54 per cent) had at least a bachelor's degree. We measured lending terms using Atieno's (2001) measures that include collateral requirements, repayment periods and interest rates. Financial literacy was measured using financial knowledge, financial skills and abilities according to Sebstad et al. (2006), Schagenand Lines (1996). Both lending terms and financial literacy questions were anchored on a five-point Likert scale. Access to formal credit was measured using amount received and frequency of access (number of times) (Diagne and Zeller, 2001).\nResults and discussion: We generated means and standard deviations to summarise the observed data. For simplicity we report the means of observed variables as fitted. We report the means because according to Field (2009), means represent a summary of the data while standard deviations show how well the means represent the data. The main purpose is to establish whether the statistical means were a good fit of the observed data (Field, 2009). Thus the means cross-validate the results of confirmatory factor analysis. The means and standard deviations of all the items are summarised in Table I. Table I reveals that all mean scores of the items range from 2.10 to 4.38 with the standard deviations from 0.587 to 1.173. Because of small standard deviations compared to mean values, it is clear that the data points are close to the means and hence calculated means highly represented the observed data (Field, 2009; Saunders et al., 2007). Graphs 1-6 also accord a visual understanding of the key indicators. The bar charts are a visual display of perceptions by gender and unit of enquiry (position in company - SME owners or managers) of commercial lending terms, financial literacy and formal credit accessibility. The bar graphs suggest business managers had higher perceived access to credit, commercial lending terms and financial literacy (on a scale of 1-5) than, business owners. Similarly the graphs suggest a small difference in perceived financial literacy, commercial lending terms and credit accessibility (on a scale of 1-5) than females.\nConclusion, implications and areas of further research: The objective of this paper was to investigate the relationship between commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit by SMEs. The results suggest a positive and significant relationship between perceived commercial lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit. Moreover, the ANOVA results serendipitously show that access to formal credit varies with type of business and turnover. Contrary to expectations and previous thinking, however, collateral and loan repayment periods are not observed variables for the latent variable, commercial bank lending terms. The most important observed variable for commercial lending terms is interest rates. This, together with literacy levels, explains 31 per cent of the variances in access to formal credit by SMEs in Uganda. The results are important because they provide evidence of the aggregate explanatory power of interest rates and financial literacy for the criterion variable, access to formal credit by SMEs. As with any study, there are a number of limitations with the present paper. Although the questionnaire was self-administered, we did not undertake follow up interviews which would have informed us the reasons why the respondents held certain views. Our study was limited to the SME firms registered and operating in Kampala, Uganda and it is possible that our results are only applicable to these firms in Uganda. Finally, the present study is cross-sectional; it is possible that the views held by individuals may change over the years. In spite of the limitations, policy makers dealing with financial literacy, commercial banks, academicians, SME owners and managers and even general readers interested in the field of economic development and financial management might find this study insightful. Future research may wish to examine the predictive power of turnover and nature of business to access to formal credit.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this cross-sectional study, the authors surveyed 384 business owners or managers of SMEs in Uganda. The authors applied confirmatory factor analysis to reduce the number of factors and identify the important elements that capture commercial lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit. The authors put forward and tested two hypotheses relating to the significance of the relationship between perceived commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit using structural equation modelling with analysis of moment structures 18.\nFindings: The results suggest a positive and significant relationship between perceived commercial bank lending terms, financial literacy and access to formal credit. Moreover, the ANOVA results serendipitously show that access to formal credit varies with type of business and turnover. However, collateral and loan repayment periods are not observed variables for commercial bank lending terms. The most significant observed variable for commercial bank lending terms is interest rates. This, together with financial literacy, explains 31 per cent of the variances in access to formal credit by SMEs in Uganda.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study is limited to the SME firms registered and operating in Kampala, Uganda and it is possible that the results are only applicable to these firms in Uganda. Nevertheless, the findings have implications to commercial banks wishing to improve the turnover of their micro-lending schemes.\nPractical implications: Efforts by the stakeholders to improve financial literacy of SMEs owners and managers must be matched with favourable interest rates if access to formal credit is to be enhanced.\nSocial implications: The findings also have implications for governments aiming at improving access to finance to overcome income inequality problems, and also improve their growth.\nOriginality/value: The results provide initial evidence of the aggregate explanatory power of interest rates and financial literacy for the criterion variable, access to formal credit by SMEs.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The empowering of public sector officers in the Mauritian public sector in the context of reforms: How far has management education helped?
|
[
"Leadership",
"Public sector",
"Management education",
"Ingrained culture",
"New public sector management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Over the years, research pertaining to making government more effective has attracted a lot of attention under the \"reform\" label. Although it is agreed that \"reforms movements vary in depth, scope and success\" (Kaboolian, 1998, p. 190), models of government under reforms, such as bureaucracy, administration and management in the public sector, have attracted a lot of research, especially in the Western countries such as the UK and USA and also in Australia and New Zealand (Christensen and Laegreid, 2002; McGeough, 2015). Speaking about the UK, more specifically, Currie et al. (2008) indicate that:\nLiterature review: The role of business schools\nThe context of the study: The Republic of Mauritius, a small developing island state, is no exception as far as reform initiatives and dispensing of management courses are concerned. During the past two decades, although the Mauritian public sector had stood the test of time, it was becoming evident that, to satisfy the needs of its population, certain fundamental changes were required. As pointed out in The Reform of the Civil Service -Report of a Standing Committee (1999, p. 9):\nMethodology: This study takes place in the Republic of Mauritius, a small island found on the east coast of Africa, which was declared a republic in 1992. The public sector in Mauritius caters for the provision of health services, education and transport and is the largest employer of the island with around 80,000 employees till date (Pay Research Bureau Report, 2008). Following the Report of the Standing Committee in 1999, the government embarked on numerous reforms initiatives, including the sending of high-ranked public servants back to university to follow specialised courses. But to what extent have these courses helped in the adoption of NPM doctrines in the Mauritian government has not been yet probed into.\nFindings: General background of respondents\nDiscussion: This study made use of the qualitative method to investigate the practice of NPM in the Mauritian government. Data has been collected from quite long serving public officers who have \"made their ways\" to be among the top positions in the hierarchy of ministries. The findings have been very insightful and are discussed in the light of existing literature.\nConclusion: This study comprised of 12 AS and only 4 PAS. It is acknowledged that more PAS could have been roped in this study. Because of the nature of their duties, it was difficult to catch hold of them. However, no major differences were found in their responses regarding the concepts under study.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide insights about the usefulness of management education for the public sector in the Republic of Mauritius, which embarked on reforms initiatives around two decades ago. In this context, public officers were encouraged to follow specialised management courses. However, as at date, there is considerable evidence to say that the Mauritian public sector has not been successful in adopting new public sector management (NPM) doctrines. This study investigates into the effectiveness of the public sector management courses offered to the public servants in Mauritius to cope with NPM. It tries to identify the barriers that they face to implement what they have learnt, back at the workplace.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study makes use of the qualitative method using thematic analysis to analyse data, which was gathered through an unstructured interview carried among principal assistant secretaries and assistant secretaries of the Mauritian public sector.\nFindings: The study showed that while NPM is still making its way in the Mauritian public sector, officers perceived that management education has helped them in gaining the required scientific skills and competencies to cope with their day-to-day work. But applying them to the workplace has not been easy. The major factors put forward by these officers have been mainly the ingrained public sector culture and existing leadership.\nOriginality/value: While extant researches focus on the success or failure of the implementation of NPM in various governments around the world, this study investigates how far management education has helped public sector officers adopt NPM doctrines in the Mauritian government. In doing so, it has also identified the barriers to the implementation of NPM in the Mauritian public sector.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Skills for creative industries graduate success
|
[
"Australia",
"Graduates",
"Employment",
"Career development",
"Motivation (psychology)"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The literature is replete with discussions of the generic and discipline-specific skills and knowledge university graduates may require in order to be employable. Somewhat less attention has been given to the influence of motivational and attitudinal characteristics on graduate employability (Tomlinson, 2007) and remarkably little has been said about the importance of career management skills, which are the cluster of abilities required to navigate the world of work. Career management skills are those involved in obtaining suitable employment and further educational opportunities, and intentionally building a career (Bridgstock, 2009). In sectors such as the creative industries, where the labour force is fluid and graduate entry is highly competitive (Ball, 2003; Harvey and Blackwell, 1999) it makes sense that tenacious graduates with strong internal drive and well-developed career management competencies (in addition to outstanding job skills) will experience better outcomes. This article evaluates the impact of career management competence and work motivations on the early career outcomes of two cohorts of graduates from creative industries degree courses in Australia.1.1 The creative industries\n2. Method: The present study uses a prospective, quantitative approach to investigate the value of work motivations and career self-management skills to the early career outcomes of creative industries graduates. This approach was chosen because it:* permits generalisability of findings to the wider population of creative industries graduates;* eliminates common method bias, which occurs when predictor and outcome variables are measured at once; and* does not rely on participants' recollections of their skill or career outcome levels at a previous time, which can be inaccurate.2.1 Participants\n3. Results: Descriptive results for all of the variables of interest are presented in Table II. Just over half (58.65 per cent) of the participants were from university 1, and four in ten (37.98 per cent) were male. Slightly fewer than one-third (31.25 per cent) had completed creative arts courses, 35.10 per cent had completed performing arts courses, and the remainder (37.98 per cent) were technical/design graduates. At time one, three-quarters (75.96 per cent) gave responses which were coded as \"solely or primarily intrinsic motivations\" (with 21.63 per cent giving responses which contained elements of both intrinsic and extrinsic work motivations). At time two, one year later, the average age of the graduates was 23 years. Their median total yearly income was $26,000 AU, of which $15,000 AU was creative industries-related. The mean 1-6 career success rating was 3.55, almost exactly at the mid \"neutral\" point of the career scale.In preparation for regression modelling, the income variables were logarithmically transformed to correct for skewness. Bivariate correlations were calculated, as shown in Table III. The correlation between the two CMC scales was quite high (r=0.57), indicating a potential problem with multicollinearity. However, none of the tolerance values were lower than 0.65, and collinearity diagnostics did not reveal a problem; therefore, both CMC variables were included in the models.3.1 Model results for total income (log)\n4. Discussion: Although a link between student career self management and graduate work outcomes is intuitively appealing and reflects a position that has been espoused by several authors in the career development field (Bridgstock, 2009; Mayston, 2002; Watts, 2006), the present study is the first to demonstrate empirically that a group of final year undergraduate students who report having well-developed career self-management skills experience higher levels of subjective and objective career success after graduation. Further, intrinsic motivations for work were able to be linked both with career management skills and career success (particularly subjective success). As such, this study provides support for the notion that creative graduates who exemplify Hall's (Briscoe and Hall, 2006; Hall, 1976, 2004) notion of the protean careerist as being intrinsically motivated in career and engaging in self-directed career behaviour, experience better initial career outcomes than those who do not.Two background variables were also of particular note in the present results. First, perhaps unsurprisingly, participant age was positively related to possession of career management skills and also to the various measures of career success, although older graduates were not more likely than younger graduates to report intrinsic career motivations. The findings with respect to statistical mediation would appear to suggest that one of the reasons that the older graduates had better outcomes than younger graduates was that they tended to possess better developed career management skills. One might propose that that the reason older graduates reported stronger career management skills than younger graduates is simply that they were likely to have had more experience in navigating the world of work.Second, strong disciplinary differences were found for graduate outcomes, with performing and creative arts graduates earning significantly less than digital/technical graduates, and performing arts graduates also reporting significantly lower subjective career success ratings than creative and digital/technical graduates. These disciplinary differences did not extend to career self-management skills or career motivations. The disciplinary differences in income levels were congruent with what has been reported elsewhere (Bridgstock, 2005; Higgs, 2008; Throsby and Hollister, 2003).4.1 Building career management competence at university\n5. Conclusion: The present research provides empirically-based support for the contention that abilities beyond the \"employability skills\" usually targeted through university curricula can have graduate employability effects. While generic and discipline-specific skills should remain central to creative industries undergraduate courses, further thought should be given to the concurrent development of career management skills - those skills involved in intentional career building. Career management course provision should involve much more than is currently provided by \"capstone\" courses during the final year. It should be embedded throughout the curriculum.This study depended on data from self-report questionnaires of graduates at two points in time. Although the findings are persuasive, they should be corroborated using other cohorts and other methods. Subsequent research should clarify the nature of the relationship between career management skills and career motivations, and could also explore links between career management skills, the development of discipline-specific and generic skills, and graduate employability. These questions lend themselves to large scale, longitudinal quantitative research with multiple data collection episodes during and beyond university, employing both \"objective\" assessments and self-report measures of skill development.Significant further research is also needed to identify ways that career management skills can best be developed through the university experience. Of particular interest is the development of student career identity, and how this agenda might be pursued in first year, concomitant with the development of university student identity and necessary academic skills. There may be some utility in incorporating a significant degree of inquiry-based learning in the first year of study (\"the upside-down curriculum\" - see, for instance, Lindgren (2010)) as a vehicle for student reflective practice and career identity development. Appropriate scaffolding from academic advisors, careers education specialists, industry mentors and possibly more advanced students or recent graduates, is important to the success of such an endeavour. An initial step could be to trial these suggestions with a small number of creative disciplines in a university, and to evaluate it using a participatory action research spiral (McTaggart, 1991), gaining qualitative initial feedback from students and other stakeholders. The trial sample should ideally be large enough to pursue a quantitative pre- and post-test approach as well, which would include measures of student capability and career identity.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Although there is increasing evidence that the creative industries are essential to national economic growth as well as social and cultural well-being, creative graduates often find it difficult to become established professionally. This study aims to investigate the value of career management competence and intrinsic career motivations (as elements of \"protean career orientation\") in predicting positive graduate outcomes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Self-report surveys were administered to 208 creative industries graduates from two Australian universities at two points in time: at course completion, and one year later.\nFindings: - The paper finds that individual career management competence and intrinsic work motivations, measured at course completion, were significant predictors of early career success, using both subjective and objective measures, measured one year later.\nPractical implications: - This study suggests that an emphasis on student development beyond the traditional \"key\" employability skills may well be worthwhile. The paper also suggests a broad learning and teaching approach by which universities can encourage the development of student career identity, and thus engender student intrinsic career motivations and career self management skills and behaviours.\nOriginality/value: - This is one of the first studies to demonstrate empirically a link between a particular set of skills and graduate outcomes. In addition, it provides insights into the role of student career motivations in positive transitions to the world of work in the creative industries.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Plug and play (PnP) modelling approach to throughput analysis
|
[
"Operations and production management",
"Operations management",
"Process planning",
"Modelling"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In today's dynamic and competitive manufacturing environment, making decisions based on \"gut feel\" is no longer suitable. Manufacturing operations have become complex, embodying many of the latest technologies and techniques such as lean production, six sigma, theory of constraints, etc. Implementing a change such as introducing a new product can involve making a wide range of difficult choices on alternative actions covering decisions in both structural (capacity, facilities, technology, vertical integration) and operational/infrastructural (quality, production planning, organisation, workforce policies, performance measurement) areas (Hayes and Wheelwright, 1984). It is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the outcomes of decisions and actions with any degree of confidence. Formal modelling approaches are needed to better inform managers and to assist their decision-making process.A model is an abstraction of reality. However, often the process of developing valid models results in overly complex models that are difficult to understand. Managers would prefer to have simple models to make sense of complex manufacturing operations (Solberg, 1992). However, simple models are difficult to develop, therefore, most often simulation models are developed for complex manufacturing situations. Simulation models contain features, which enable managers to build visual models to experiment with, to study the best possible solution to a problem. Regardless of the type of model, models are vital for managers to get early feedback on actions or decisions such as building new plants. For example, the ability to ramp up a plant for a new pharmaceutical product and bring it to market quickly can help companies to gain longer revenues from sales before the product patent expires.However, there are some drawbacks to the modelling software available today which significantly reduce their value in decision support. Too often the actual costs of designing, building and implementing, and managing models outweigh their purported benefits. The reality of modern manufacturing is that managers need to make decisions such as investing in a new technology or a plant under severe time pressure. However, decisions which need to be made in a couple of days may take several weeks to model and analyse using a simulation package (Suri and Tomsicek, 1988; Tan et al., 2006).Thus, there is a need for approaches that allow managers to rapidly build up models and perform analysis to support their decisions. The need for rapid modelling approaches also arises from the increased flexibility that businesses demand of themselves and consequently, of their modelling capabilities. Typical business imperatives like productivity, quality, time to market, and the ability to adapt to changes, are decisions that companies need to address constantly. A cost effective and timely analysis of manufacturing decisions can lead to an enhanced competitive position. Moreover, if models can be made more accessible through techniques of simplification and visualisation, without undermining their fundamental validity, they stand a better chance of being used by managers.Today, in many companies, models are built by a team of people over a long period of time. Hence, there is a need for a rapid \"plug and play\" (PnP) modelling framework - a way of building models from components: a \"LEGO block\" approach to manufacturing simulation and analysis. A PnP framework consists of \"basic\" units of decision components (modules) that allow managers to rapidly build up a model. For many years researchers have been looking at the possibility of a rapid modelling approach to decision support (Suri, 1988; Nymon, 1987; Brown, 1988; Peikert et al., 1998). Suri and Tomsicek (1988) developed a set of five compatible tools for rapid modelling and analysis of discrete manufacturing systems. These tools are tightly integrated to allow managers to build models in a short span of time especially for production lead time analysis. Peikert et al. (1998) proposed a methodology for quickly investigating problem areas in semiconductor wafer fabrication factories by creating a model for the production area of interest only (as opposed to a model of the complete factory operation). Although these research efforts have been tailored for specific factory operations and applications, by and large, they have shown the possibility of rapid modelling for decision support.Despite the research efforts mentioned above, the research community has not yet offered managers a practical and actionable PnP approach to decision modelling. This paper proposes such a PnP approach to decision modelling. The objective of this paper is to present ideas central to PnP modelling. Firstly, the PnP concept is introduced, and the proposed framework is described. The different techniques adopted in the framework are explained, and their applications are illustrated using a case example on manufacturing throughput analysis. Finally, the implications of this research are discussed and plans for further work are outlined.\nThe plug and play concept: The term \"plug and play\" is taken from software engineering practices, which emphasises component-based and architecture-driven software development (Bronsard et al., 1997). While the PnP concept in software engineering aims for scalability in design, the main idea behind the PnP approach to decision modelling is to provide the capability for managers to quickly configure a model that closely resembles both the decision-making framework and decision objectives under which their company functions (Figure 1).The two key issues of a PnP approach to decisions modelling are:1. components; and2. framework.PnP components (modules)\nConclusion and further work: Models should be used by decision makers to support decision making. But the current state of art in developing and using modelling and simulation packages typically demands at least the following skill categories: simulation language programmer, statistician, modeller, etc. It is rare that managers possess all these skills and the time to make build a comprehensive useable model from scratch. The proposed PnP approach for rapid decision modelling aims to support two important goals: productivity improvement to ensure that managers can rapidly build up models, and increase communication and decision support efficiency to ensure that those who should be using it, can and will use it.This research has so far introduced, described, and explained the PnP approach. The idea of PnP to support manufacturing decision modelling is new and not yet well developed. We recognise that there are a number of additional issues that must be addressed before the proposed PnP approach is ready to make a practical impact. Further, work will primarily focus on two areas:1. developing a PnP software tool to operationalise the proposed framework; and2. testing its feasibility in a range of companies.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to propose a \"plug and play\" (PnP) approach to decision modelling. An approach to building models from components based on a \"LEGO block\" style of manufacturing simulation and analysis. The objective of this paper is to present ideas central to PnP modelling for throughput analysis.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Firstly, the PnP concept is introduced and the proposed framework is described. Then different techniques adopted in the framework are explained, and their applications are illustrated using a case example on manufacturing throughput analysis. Finally, the implications of this research are discussed and plans for further work are outlined.\nFindings: - The proposed PnP approach for rapid decision modelling was capable to support two important goals: productivity improvement to ensure that managers can rapidly build up models, and increase communication and decision support efficiency to ensure that those who should be using it, can and will use it.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This research has so far introduced, described, and explained the PnP approach. The idea of PnP to support manufacturing decision modelling is new and not yet well developed. It is recognised that there are a number of additional issues that must be addressed before the proposed PnP approach is ready to make a practical impact.\nOriginality/value: - The paper introduces a PnP approach to decision modelling.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Paralysis by analysis? The dilemma of choice and the risks of technology evaluation
|
[
"Investment appraisal",
"Communication technologies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: When we observe the typical outcomes of technology management and investment appraisal and technology (Irani et al., 2001; Remenyi et al., 2000) there is still a wide variation in how evaluation of technology is carried out and the results that are achieved. What has been learnt so far however (Sharif et al., 2005), is that as organisational goals and circumstances change, so do/should the appraisal process. However, the process and nature of evaluating and making technology decisions requires continual experience and applied knowledge in order to succeed. But I fear that there is a real risk of trying to do too much, to over-analyse, to over-evaluate; thereby intrinsically increasing complexity and widening choice and uncertainty. To highlight this, consider the following scenario.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of the paper is to discuss the dilemma of choice and the risks of technology evaluation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The author uses the buying process of a TV as an example.\nFindings: - At all costs the act and the process of evaluation must not take precedence over the decision that results from it.\nOriginality/value: - Provides an interesting example of the dilemma of choice.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
What kind of (digital) citizen? A between-studies analysis of research and teaching for democracy
|
[
"Social media",
"Educational technology",
"Digital citizenship"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Public schools in a democracy should educate young people to develop the knowledge and dispositions of citizenship in order to foster a more inclusive society and ensure the continuation of democratic republics (Apple and Beane, 1995; Dewey, 1916, 1976; Giroux, 1988). To that end, conceptualizations of citizenship must be clearly framed in order to support civic engagement, in particular, civic engagement for social justice (Foucault, 1991; Giroux, 1988; Westheimer and Kahne, 2004). Scholars in political science and communications have engaged in rigorous deliberation surrounding the definitions of citizenship, democracy and the implications for social justice (e.g. boyd, 2014; Kahne et al., 2016; McGillivray et al., 2016; Westheimer and Kahne, 2000, 2004; Tufekci, 2017), and certainly, explorations and investigations of civic engagement and participation exist within media studies, information technology and literacy scholarship (e.g. Bennett, 2008; Hollett et al., 2017; Jenkins et al., 2009; Mirra and Garcia, 2017; Rheingold, 2008).\nTheoretical framework: The purpose of this study is to analyze research around digital citizenship in educational technology and frame those findings within the context of what kind of citizens schools develop. I adopted Westheimer and Kahne's (2004) framework for facilitating citizenship development in schools as a lens with which to analyze existing scholarship. While Westheimer and Kahne's (2004) work is not a proposal of pedagogy per se, it nonetheless considers the types of citizenship that schools might foster, and then suggests ways that schools can teach for these types of citizens. Further elaborating on Westheimer and Kahne (2004), Krutka and Carpenter (2016) suggest that educators might imagine social media pedagogies within the context of Westheimer and Kahne's (2004) framework. This review uses Westheimer and Kahne's (2004) broad categories of citizenship and refines those categories for educational technology use.\nMethods: This review used the between-study literature analysis methodological approach (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2012) to answer the research question, How is digital citizenship researched and discussed? A between-study literature analysis treats each study as an intrinsic case. Each section of a study (i.e. literature review, theoretical framework, methods, findings and discussion) is treated as part of the case. This approach is particularly useful for understanding the findings of a study within the broader context of the study's methodology and theoretical framework (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2012).\nFindings: Most frequently, the authors referred to \"good\" digital citizenship in a modernist and positivist sense, that is to say, as if there were an accepted universal and objective truth surrounding notions of citizenship. Further, these articles neither anchored conceptions of citizenship in theory, nor did they historicize the meaning of citizenship. Instead, they relied on superficial conceptions of digital literacy or standards influenced by Ribble's and Beiley (2007). Ribble and Bailey (2007) developed Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship which emphasize safety, responsibility and appropriate use of e-commerce. Studies that conceived of citizenship as participatory disagreed with what digital participation for citizenship might mean. Scholars were either explicitly or implicitly influenced by Jenkins et al.'s (2009) definition of participatory practices, while others took Bennett's (2008) view that digitally mediated interactions could lead to new types of citizenship. Most of these articles emphasized citizenship but did not provide pedagogical implications of these conceptions of digital citizenship. Conceptions of justice-oriented citizenship tended to be well grounded in either media studies or political science theory, and also considered philosophers who provide foundational understandings of power and politics such as Foucault and Deleuze.\nDiscussion: The findings indicate that the majority of researchers frame discussion of digital citizenship in a normalizing and modernist conception of citizen - that of a personally responsible citizen. Further, the findings of this review suggest there is a need for educational technologists to be familiar with the intellectual history of citizenship and the theoretical disagreements about what citizenship is. Scholars who failed to understand that these disagreements exist failed to engage in research which either moved research forward or challenged accepted and normative notions of citizenship. On the other hand, scholars such as Manca and Grion (2017), Couldry et al. (2014) and Gleason and von Gillern (2018), who referenced nuanced conceptions of citizenship in their literature reviews and theoretical frameworks, were able to frame findings in more complex and meaningful ways. Similarly, scholars who were aware of and referenced debates about and among critical theorists were able to craft research which intentionally challenged conservative notions of citizenship (e.g. McGillivray et al., 2016; Pedersen et al., 2018). However, scholars who did not refer to critical theory in their work tended to reify neoliberal and colonial notions of democracy, even when they were attempting to address critical issues like global citizenship or equity.\nConclusion: Educational technologists should consider the role of citizenship in public schools and consider the role of critical theorists and educational technology. Technology integration in schools should help students develop a sense of identity, place, community and mattering in order to allow students to drive their own learning through affinity spaces, connected learning and participation. International consortia and societies should stop conflating character with citizenship. It is fine to teach children to be responsible on the internet, but justice-oriented digital citizenship involves more skills and intention than just responsibility.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Public schools in a democracy should educate young people to develop the knowledge and dispositions of citizenship in order to foster a more inclusive society and ensure the continuation of the democratic republic. Conceptualizations of citizenship must be clearly framed in order to support civic engagement, in particular, civic engagement for social justice. Rarely do educational technology scholars or educators interrogate the International Society for Technology in Education definition of digital citizenship. Educational technologists should connect notions of civic engagement and conceptions of digital citizenship. Instead, the field continues to engage in research, policy and practice which disconnects these ideas. This suggests that a gap exists between educational technologists' conceptualizations of citizenship and the larger implications of citizenship within a democracy. The paper aims to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper uses a between-study analysis of the literature to answer: How does the field of educational technology discuss and research digital citizenship? The data were coded using constant comparative analysis. The study adopted a theoretical framework grounded in Westheimer and Kahne's (2004) What Kind of Citizen, and Krutka and Carpenter's (2016) digital approach to citizenship.\nFindings: The findings suggest that educational technologists' uncritical usage of the term digital citizenship limits the authors' field's ability to contribute to a fundamental purpose of public schooling in a democracy - to develop citizens. Further, it hampers imagining opportunities to use educational technology to develop pedagogies of engaged citizenship for social justice.\nOriginality/value: Reframing the conception of digital citizenship as active civic engagement for social justice pushes scholarship, and its attendant implications for practice, in a proactive direction aimed at dismantling oppression.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee performance
|
[
"Employee engagement",
"Employee performance",
"Team and co-worker relationship",
"Working environment"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Employee engagement is defined in general as the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organisation and its values. When an employee is engaged, he is aware of his responsibility in the business goals and motivates his colleagues alongside, for the success of the organisational goals. The positive attitude of the employee with his work place and its value system is otherwise called as the positive emotional connection of an employee towards his/her work. Engaged employees go beyond the call of duty to perform their role in excellence. Engagement at work was first conceptualised by Kahn (1990, p. 694) as the \"harnessing of organizational members' selves to their work roles\". He added that in engagement \"people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances\" . There are various factors that define an employee as an engaged employee. The concept has evolved taking into account the various behaviours exhibited by an employee that is positively productive. This paper identifies the key variables through a thorough literature survey that describes employee engagement and identifies the strength of impact of employee engagement on employee performance.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Employee engagement\n3. Objectives of the study: 3.1 To identify various factors that predict employee engagement\n4. Methodology: 4.1 Instrument development and validation\n5. Results: 5.1 Influence of various factors on employee engagement\n6. Discussion: The results of the regression analysis indicate that the independent variables identified to influence employee engagement do have a significant impact in determining the engagement level of the employees. The t-values in Table IV implies that working environment (t=5.503) and team and co-worker relationship (3.623) are the most influential factors on employee engagement as they are statistically significant at 0.01 level of significance. The b values also suggest that working environment influences up to 53 per cent as a determinant of employee engagement and team and co-worker relationship has about 36 per cent influence. This signifies the importance of a healthy work atmosphere and good interpersonal harmony with fellow members in the organisation for anyone to be engaged positively at work.\n7. Conclusion: The above study emphasises the importance of employee engagement and also identifies various aspects that have a significant effect on it. It also shows that there is a strong significant relationship between employee engagement and employee performance. Regression analysis predicts that out of the various important factors that have an overall effect on employee engagement, there are two factors that came out with significant path validity or t value. Working environment and team and co-WORKER relationship were found to have significant t values in relating with employee engagement. The paper also quotes previous studies and suggest measures on factors that improve working environment and team and co-worker relationship.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the key determinants of employee engagement and their predictability of the concept. It also studies the impact of employee engagement on employee performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Causal study was done to study the impact of relationships. A survey questionnaire was developed and validated using a pilot data (a=0.975). Simple random sampling was used to select the employees from middle and lower managerial levels from small-scale organisations. A total of 700 questionnaires were distributed and 383 valid responses collected. Regression and structural equation modelling were used to predict and estimate the relationships.\nFindings: It was found that all the identified factors were predictors of employee engagement (r2, 0.672), however, the variables that had major impact were working environment and team and co-worker relationship. Employee engagement had significant impact on employee performance (r2, 0.597).\nPractical implications: Special focus and effort is required specifically on the factors working-environment and team and co-worker relationship as they have shown significantly higher impact on employee engagement and hence employee performance. Organisations shall focus on presenting a great environment for employees to work and promote programmes that would enhance peer relationships.\nSocial implications: The determinants of employee engagement connote a healthy working atmosphere that reflects on the social impact created by the organisation. Employees would enjoy considerable attention in terms of the determinants being addressed.\nOriginality/value: The research emphasises the growing importance and need for crystallisation of the concept of employee engagement. The research is unique in respect to the comprehensive model that is developed and validated.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Identifying key trends in sales - from a training perspective
|
[
"Sales",
"Skills",
"Strategy",
"Competencies",
"E‐selling",
"Training",
"Competitive strategy"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Sales is always a key business skill but, in the current challenging economic climate, it is especially important that learning and development professionals understand the key issues - at both the macro and micro levels - that are affecting the sales arena. Moreover, these key issues have a bearing on the sort of sales skills that are needed in today's rapidly changing commercial world.\nMotivation: \"You need to motivate the buyer to buy,\" he said. \"Of course motivation doesn't last. Neither does a bath but it's a good idea to take one once in a while.\"Hutson explained the evolution of sales techniques - from the \"Product Pitch\" and the \"Hard Sell\" through to \"Relationship Selling\", \"Needs Analysis Selling\" and \"Symbiotic Selling\". These five approaches were in vogue at various times - chronologically - throughout the twentieth century. Symbiotic Selling is now the current \"flavour of the month\".\"With Symbiotic Selling, you bring so much to the table, via your relationship with the buyer - in which you become seen as a 'trusted advisor' - that price is irrelevant,\" Hutson explained.\"To become a 'trusted advisor' to the buyer you need to have character and integrity; expertise, and a 'follow-through' reputation for meeting deadlines and exceeding expectations,\" he said.\nLoyalty ladder: Discussing the \"loyalty ladder\" - suspects, prospects, customers, clients, advocates and confidants - Hutson explained that top sales performers spend most of their time with the final three categories of customer. This is where they receive a higher return on their investment (ROI). He concluded by outlining the \"EASY\" process to sales success: \"Engage; Assess; Strategise - that's Your one minute drill,\" he said.\nValue-based selling: Taking up the theme of value-based selling, Dr Graeme Coddrington, explained that successful selling depends on \"connecting\" with customers' values - that is, that part of the customer that decides what is right or wrong; what is normal or weird. In his view, this is not as easy as some people might think because other people's values are different from ours. That means that they must be approached differently.He said that, represented in today's workplace, there are members of four distinct generations:1. the Silent Generation (those born between 1925 and 1945);2. Baby Boomers (1946 to 1969);3. Generation X (1970 to 1989); and4. Generation Y (1989 to around 2008).\"The world you grew up in - in which you spent your first 15 years of life - determines your value system,\" he said. \"Members of each of these generations have different values and, for you to build rapport with them, requires different approaches.\"\nAlleviating customers' \"pain\": Sharon Drew Morgen discussed why people do not buy - even when what you are selling them will be of benefit to them. She said: \"It's because the pain of their problem is more bearable than the pain of the disruption that instituting your solution will bring. Unless and until a buyer gets the appropriate buy-in for change and knows how to manage change when a solution appears, that buyer will do nothing.\"\nMacro level sales issues: Michael Portillo, the former Conservative Cabinet Minister who is now a well-known broadcaster, began exploring issues affecting sales and sales skills at the macro level - in his presentation entitled \"The importance of selling in today's economy\".\"The British and other western economies are in crisis because the current recession is unusual,\" he said. \"Most recessions have a relatively quick 'dip' and a relatively quick recovery - as if the economy is hurrying to get back to where it should have been. But this recession is more like the Depression of some 80 years ago. Both this recession and the Depression were born of financial - notably banks' - collapse.\"In addition, we have multiple debt crises. First there was a personal debt crisis. Then the financial institutions experienced a crisis, where debt instruments became detached from actual value. The third stage is sovereign debt - and now, there's nowhere else to go!\"Western economies are in deficit, while Eastern economies are experiencing surpluses of investment,\" he continued. \"At the same time, there is the Euro crisis, where different economies within the Eurozone are operating at different levels and so can't exist at the same exchange rate.\"It's going to make life difficult for us all for a long period,\" he predicted. \"Among other things, tax levels will have to rise; inflation will rise; living standards will fall, and utility prices will rise.\"Every country experiencing sovereign debt must increase tax and reduce public spending. However, this can lead to a critical absence of demand, where people who have money are waiting to buy things because they're uncertain of the future.\"Compare this situation with that in China, where there are big surpluses but no recognition that they need to release the purchasing power of their middle classes - and thus provide business opportunities for the West.\"So, it's inaccurate to call this a 'global recession',\" he continued, \"because the recession is only affecting Western economies. Economies representing around 60 per cent of global GDP - including Brazil and Turkey - are experiencing growth of at least six per cent a year; so there should be good opportunities to sell to them.\"Of course, 'recession' and 'boom' are generalised expressions,\" he said. \"They only apply to what is happening in the aggregate. For example, despite this country currently experiencing a 'debt crisis', there are a number of people in the UK who are not in debt.\"\nConfidence and fighting for market share: \"Some 18 per cent of the housing wealth in the UK is currently owned by people under 50. This means that 82 per cent of UK homeowners have 'wealth' but are over 50. These people are currently not spending - not necessarily because they don't have the money but because they don't have the confidence to buy.\"Even in an economy that's not growing, you can still battle for market share - and one of the ways to battle successfully for market share is via brand differentiation,\" he added.\nSales presentation techniques: Gavin Ingham returned to discussing \"micro\" level sales skills by outlining how to be \"different\" when making a sales presentation and, so, \"wow\" your customers. In particular, he offered his five key Ps of sales presentation:1. Positioning. You need to:*add value;*be the expert;*be in demand;*not get out of position; and*be prepared to walk away.2. Planning - by asking (and answering): Who? Why? How? What's the process? How do I add value to them/their business?3. Practise - money, sales, mastery, freedom, security, success.4. Passion - attitude is your ability to access your skill.5. Performance - how can you improve next time?\nEthical selling: Alice Beer, a BBC journalist and presenter of the consumer programme, Watchdog, discussed ethical selling. She stressed its importance not just in helping people to be successful salespeople in today's society but also - taking up Michael Portillo's point - in helping society to have confidence in its sales professionals and so enabling people to buy with confidence.\nThe influence of the internet on sales behaviour: Sales development specialist, Sean McPheat, explained that the modern day buyer wants \"more for less\"; more choice; wants the seller to \"give it away\"; will research to find alternatives; will \"play you off\"; engage in \"price bashing\" and is, generally, \"sales savvy\".\"With the rise of the internet, the balance of power is shifting towards the buyer,\" he observed. Echoing Don Hutson's view - from earlier in the conference - of the development of sales techniques, McPheat suggested that the four phases of sales development have been:1. \"Show up and throw up\" (all the features of the product or service you are selling).2. The consultative selling revolution.3. The start of the research age.4. The future of modern day selling (which includes the use of social media).He pointed out that, according to figures from the US-based research firm, Gartner, 90 per cent of buying decisions are now based on internet research. He said: \"People use LinkedIn and so on for recommendations - but they still do Google searches. However, they seem to trust LinkedIn recommendations more than the results of Google searches.\"And, since we're now told, by Market Transformations, that 73 per cent of decision makers won't accept an inbound 'cold' call, the best way to get to these people is to connect via LinkedIn, make the contact that way - and then call. You'll get further!\"Market Transformations also tell us that two out of every three decision makers place more trust in their own research than in what they're told by salespeople,\" he continued.\"So it appears we're moving from the traditional model of 'telephone, visit, discuss and decide'. Now, it appears, there is 'internet research, internal discussion and the preparation of shortlists, then a decision followed by contacting the vendor'. This new process will go on even if you make a cold call and/or a sales proposal. The buyer will always do some research to check up on you - and to look for your competitors.\"\n\"E-selling\": \"Bearing in mind that members of 'Generation Y' are the buyers of tomorrow, the key question is: do you show up where buyers conduct their research?\" he asked. \"In terms of e-selling visibility you need to have personal branding; create an internet footprint, and engage with social media. Certainly, as far as business-to-business sales are concerned, LinkedIn is a principal resource.\"And, while you're waiting for a decision to your sales proposal, you should position yourself as an expert by e-mailing the potential buyer tips, links (perhaps to your Tweets and blog), access to relevant video clips and so on. You need to create an internet footprint - and 'get as much out there as possible.'\"McPheat concluded by suggesting some sites that might help you do this. These included sites where writers bid to write articles on your behalf; TweetBig.com, a site where you can generate followers for your Tweets, and sites that offer real time searching on Twitter. His advice to conference delegates was to:*tidy up your social media portfolio;*set up a content machine;*join in - do not be passive where the internet and social media are concerned;*add value - become involved to \"give\", not to \"get\";*use online activity to aid offline selling (for example, send potential customers links to helpful information before you go to see them);*schedule your prospecting activity; and*remember that you do not have to be better; you just need to be different to be successful.\nSummary: From the ISMM's Successful Selling conference, the key issues in sales training and development would appear to be:1. At the macro level:*There are a number of crises impacting on the economy and, thus, successful selling: personal debt; financial institution collapse; sovereign debt. This is reducing many people's spending power and reducing confidence among those who still have money to spend.*However, there is still the opportunity to be successful at selling by competing for market share, via brand differentiation.2. At the micro level:*Buyers must be motivated to buy - even though motivation is a temporary thing.*Customers must see sellers as \"trusted advisors\" so that price is irrelevant.*Sellers become trusted advisors by having character and integrity; expertise, and a \"follow-through\" reputation for meeting deadlines and exceeding expectations.*Sales ROI is maximised by spending most time with \"clients, advocates and confidants\" rather than \"suspects, prospects and customers\".*Successful selling depends on \"connecting\" with customers' values - and these differ according to the generation to which the potential customer belongs.*Unless and until a potential buyer \"buys-in\" to change and knows how to manage that change when a solution appears, that buyer will not buy.*Positioning, planning, practice, passion and performance are five key aspects of a successful sales presentation.*Ethical selling is important not just in helping people to be successful salespeople but also in helping society to have confidence in its sales professionals, thus enabling buyers to buy with confidence.*The traditional sales model of \"telephone, visit, discuss and decide\" is becoming \"internet research, internal discussion and the preparation of shortlists, then a decision followed by contacting the vendor\". Nowadays, the buyer always does some research to check up on the seller - and to look for their competitors.*\"E-selling\" is becoming increasingly important, so sellers must have personal branding; create an internet footprint, and engage with social media.Armed with this knowledge of the modern trends in successful selling, learning and development professionals will be better equipped to source and resource the sales-related training activities that should turn their salespeople into star performers in contemporary markets and enable their organisations to maintain - and increase - their competitive advantage.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to describe key issues at macro and micro levels which impact - and affect - sales training activities and facilitation for \"successful selling\" in the contemporary economic climate.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper reports presentations from key speakers at the Institute of Sales & Marketing's Successful Selling conference.\nFindings: - At the macro level, a number of crises are impacting on the economy and, thus, successful selling. However, there is still the opportunity to compete for market share, via brand differentiation. At the micro level, customers must see sellers as \"trusted advisors\"; successful selling depends on \"connecting\" with customers' values; ethical selling is important not just in helping people to be successful salespeople but also in helping society to have confidence in its sales professionals, thus enabling buyers to buy with confidence; traditional sales models are becoming superseded by \"internet research, internal discussion and the preparation of shortlists, then a decision followed by contacting the vendor\". \"E-selling\" is becoming increasingly important, so sellers must have personal branding, create an internet footprint, and engage with social media.\nPractical implications: - This paper reveals key issues in sales so L&D professionals can commission, develop, deliver and/or facilitate appropriate activities and resources to develop the sales skills needed for success in the next ten years.\nOriginality/value: - Armed with knowledge of the modern trends in successful selling, L&D professionals can source and resource sales-related training activities to turn their salespeople into star performers in contemporary markets and enable their organisations to maintain/increase their competitive advantage.\n",
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"We don't want school bags": Discourses on corporate social responsibility in Egypt and the challenges of a new practice in a complex setting
|
[
"Egypt",
"Corporate social responsibility",
"Poverty"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is relatively recent in Egypt. It has only gained currency in the past decade in this setting. Similar to the situation in many countries in the south, there is an ostensible dearth of research about this setting. Most of the literature on CSR is based on the experience of countries in the north, although it can be plausibly argued that CSR is most needed in countries in the south. Moreover, there is little evidence to support the applicability of the abundance of knowledge on CSR in western societies to other contexts (Dobers and Halme, 2009). This paper seeks to contribute to the literature seeking to highlight the dimension of culture in the study of CSR (Dobers and Springett, 2010). CSR is a normative concept. Bringing the dimension of culture allows for an understanding of the role of norms, values, assumptions and traditions in defining the practice (Packalen, 2010). Narratives and discourses about CSR are central to understanding the practice. Discourses constitute objects of knowledge, social identities and relationships between people and groups of people (Fairclough and Wodak, 1997, p. 258). Building on interview data, the analysis in this paper highlights the competing and overlapping discourses about CSR among key practitioners in Egypt. The analysis seeks to elucidate the complex processes of interaction that evolve in relation to the CSR practice in Egypt by engaging with different stakeholders including partner civil society organizations and CSR practitioners. This approach transcends the conventional focus on the \"business case\" of CSR to engage with the different actors about their perceptions and views of the practice (Burchell and Cook, 2006).\nStudy methodology: This study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with key players in the field of CSR in Egypt conducted in the fall of 2013 and early 2014. The data gathering process was guided by a set of questions, allowing for probing during the interview process. These related to how informants defined CSR as a field of practice; whether they perceived gaps between the local understanding and international definitions of CSR; and how they evaluated the current CSR practice in Egypt. Informants were also asked about their views about the potentials of CSR as a tool for national development in Egypt. All interviews were recorded with the consent of the participants and later transcribed.\nCSR in the south: challenges of expectations and context specificity: CSR is broadly defined as the responsibility of businesses to society. There is little theoretical and empirical clarity, however, as to what the concept entails among both practitioners and researchers (Brown and Forster, 2013). Dahlsrud (2008) presents 37 different definitions of CSR, offered by 27 different authors over a time span from 1980 to 2003. Some of these definitions gained more currency than others. The European Commission refers to CSR as \"the voluntary contribution of companies to a better society and a cleaner environment\" (Arzova, 2009, p. 374). A more comprehensive understandings of CSR has been provided by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), defining CSR as \"the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, and the local communities\" (Jamali and Mirshak, 2007, p. 244). This definition stresses the fact that CSR is not about simple good will or philanthropy but a commitment to sustainable economic development.\nDiscourses on CSR in Egypt: In the following three sections we highlight the three themes identified in the discourse of practitioners of CSR in Egypt. First, we discuss interview data from which we learned about how practitioners view CSR as a western version of a longstanding philanthropic tradition that is rooted in religion. We argue that these practitioners claim back CSR as practice that is not newly introduced by MNEs. In claiming back the practice, practitioners also discount the CSR version of MNEs for its focus on marketing the brand, considering it a form of taking not giving. In the third and last section, we discuss data where practitioners discuss instances of project failures for lack of sustained interest by funding MNEs or for lack of relevance to the needs of the community.\nConclusion: We argued in this paper that CSR operates within a very complex setting in Egypt. The complexity of this setting stems from its cultural uniqueness, where CSR is seen as a western version of a long standing philanthropic tradition that is rooted in religion. Because religion is highly valued, the secular replica is viewed with suspicion. The comparison between CSR and religious practices discredits CSR as a vulgarized form of giving. It is seen as \"pure PR\" as the data presented in this paper shows. The business case for CSR, which seeks to highlight the potentials of CSR in maximizing profits (e.g. McWilliams and Siegel, 2001), fails to capture local perceptions and the complexities of doing well by doing good. This utilitarian notion is considered repugnant in comparison to the religious-ethical origin associated with the concept in Egypt.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the competing and overlapping discourses on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Egypt, a setting with a serious knowledge gap on CSR.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with key players in the field of CSR in Egypt conducted in the fall of 2013 and early 2014. Informants included in this study were CSR staff members at major multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in Egypt, key partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the field of CSR, media and public relations agents that are partners with MNEs in launching CSR media campaigns about CSR activities.\nFindings: The paper identifies three themes in the discourse on CSR among some of the key field players including CSR practitioners at MNEs, NGOs and media specialists. First, CSR is seen as a western version of a long standing philanthropic tradition, that is rooted in religion. The comparison between CSR and indigenous religious practices discredits CSR as a vulgarized form of giving that seeks to take more than give. Second, the surmount challenges of poverty and unemployment place heightened expectations on CSR to seriously address these challenges. It is in view of these challenges that CSR is accused of doing \"bad\" development, which is the third theme identified in the data.\nResearch limitations/implications: There is a dearth of research on CSR in Egypt, which largely remains a setting less explored in terms of CSR. This paper problematizes the connection between CSR and development. It also highlights the importance of studying CSR in different contexts.\nPractical implications: The findings in this paper are relevant for the design of CSR programs in contexts of countries in the south.\nSocial implications: CSR is a normative practice, understanding the views of its practitioners and criticisms of the field is central to its development and maturity.\nOriginality/value: Paper builds on original data collected by the authors. It addresses a lacuna of research on CSR in the Middle East region, particularly Egypt.\n",
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] |
Managing the talent management pipeline: Towards a greater understanding of senior managers' perspectives in the hospitality and tourism sector
|
[
"Hospitality services",
"Tourism",
"Senior managers"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Talent management (TM) can be defined as a holistic approach to human resource planning aimed at strengthening organisational capability and driving business priorities using a range of HR interventions. These include a focus on performance enhancement, career development and succession planning (Iles, 2007). The concept of TM has evolved into common management practice and while originally focused on recruitment (Michaels et al., 2001), it is now recognised as a much broader concept aimed at attracting, retaining, developing and transitioning talented employees. This paper presents the views of a number of senior managers in the hospitality and tourism sector, and develops a deeper understanding of their perceptions around the value of TM, the approaches they adopt, and the issues and challenges they face in the process.The objectives of the discussion were as follows:*To examine senior managers views on TM in terms of its definition and meaning and its contribution to business success.*To explore current practice in a range of hospitality and tourism organisations at each stage of the TM pipeline, specifically attraction, retention, development and transitioning of talent.*To uncover managers views on challenges and issues at each stage and provide practical suggestions for process improvement.This discussion was specifically focused around senior managers in hospitality and tourism operations representing a variety of sub-sectors (hotels, bars, restaurants, contract catering and events management) and a range of SMEs, large MNCs, charities and government funded bodies responsible for hospitality and tourism development.The contributors were given the following definition of TM and were asked to discuss a series of questions around the area of TM with the aim of learning more about the challenges and key issues that they are dealing with and how they are responding to these. The definition was drawn from CIPD (2006a) and is illustrative of a holistic approach to TM:Talent consist of those individuals who can make a difference to organisational performance, either through their immediate contribution or in the longer term by demonstrating the highest levels of potential.\nDiscussion and results: The results of the discussions with senior managers are now presented, drawing on key themes and using illustrative quotes to amplify managers views on the challenges that they are facing.Use of the term TM and TM strategies\nIssues in attracting talent: Respondents articulated the need to sell their employee brand or unique selling point to a wider audience and discussed the range of benefits that can be used to attract talent:[...] we may not pay hugely well at entry level but employees do progress up the ladder quickly and experience many unique benefits such as free hotel accommodation around the world [...] they join a culture where teamwork and camaraderie are key to success.We attract staff by telling them about the potential for progressions. When I interview one of the things I always tell new staff is that all of our general managers have come up through the ranks - it is one of our unique selling points.Respondents generally agreed that there needed to be a more proactive approach to attracting talent and that a more focused approach to TM could in itself be used as a unique selling point to be communicated to prospective employees through the website and recruitment process:We are not so good at attraction - we need to develop a talent attraction plan in the same way as we would do a marketing plan. For example, what can we do to compensate for the high cost of living in the local area and levels of pay which are at some levels less competitive that they could earn elsewhere? We set new recruit expectations clearly early on and tell them that we may not pay the highest salaries but we will offer them other benefits and development opportunities - we want people to come to us because they are attracted by these opportunities, not just by the bottom line.There was a general consensus amongst respondents that more dialogue and discussion needed to take place within organisations and across organisational sectors regarding common areas of difficulty and which kind of staff they find hardest to attract and recruit, in order to identify reasons for these difficulties and solutions in the form of clear employee attraction strategies.Respondents discussed the need to come to a better understanding of their employees' motivations. There was recognition that the financial benefits were not necessarily the strongest part of their offer so developing a better understanding of other factors that motivate their people to stay was seen as crucial.\nIssues in retaining talent: A discussion around the changing attitudes of individuals demonstrated how TM strategies needed to flex according to different types and categories of employee and take account of emerging social trends. One respondent's account described the challenges and expectations of \"generation Y\" (those employees born since 1980), and their propensity towards changing their jobs regularly. These employees were seen to place more emphasis on employability rather than employment, which in turn put pressure on organisations to offer them continuous development of their own careers. One respondent described these employees as: [...] a new younger group of people coming through who want everything and who want it now and are quite happy to demand it!This company had realised that the key to keeping hold of this group of employees lay in developing a better understanding of their expectations and focused on developing a more meritocratic approach that valued talent. As a result it was felt important to find ways of working with the expectations of these employees that make the most of them and their enthusiasm, ensuring at the same time that that they fitted in with the company culture and other employees who may have quite different mindsets. It did, however, prove difficult as a culture was seen to be developing whereby employees were motivated to acquire the skills they needed in order to make themselves more marketable to other companies. Retaining these individuals was proving to be a great challenge.It was suggested that employers needed to focus equally on both recruitment and retention:[...] we are quite happy to spend many thousands on recruitment plans, projects and initiatives but when we look at what we do around retention specifically it is often underdeveloped and we risk seeing our investment walk out of the door into the hands of our competition.We perhaps shoot ourselves in the foot a bit in terms of raining expectations for quick progression. Many very good people move around after 2/3 years as they don't get the speedy promotion opportunities they were promised. We need to manage their expectations more effectively.Developing a deeper understanding of why good talent may leave was a strong and recurring theme throughout the discussions with respondents. One organisation had recently done some work in this area and were frustrated to find that the reasons many of the most recent leavers had given for leaving could have been easily changed had the managers known about them. There needed to be more ongoing communication and dialogue between employer and employee. The view was expressed that often the employee feels that the manager is not interested and would not make the changes even if they were small.Respondents discussed the need to involve and gain commitment from all managers to treat this issue as a priority. One respondent discussed how they viewed this area as a team problem requiring team effort:[...] a couple of months ago we pulled together all the turnover statistics and costs over the last year, we broke it down department by department and presented these to management and supervisors. We said this is the current picture and this is what it is costing us. We tried to assess both hard quantitative costs and softer less tangible but equally important costs. The challenge was how we as a team would deal with this information and develop a plan to improve it. We were conscious to avoid dwelling on the past and rather focused on engaging the team and pulling a plan together to ensure we were all accountable and so we could come back a few months later and evaluate the results.This narrative provided an interesting example which illustrated how the hard, quantitative labour turnover figures and their impact on the bottom line could be used to engage managers and convince them to buy-in to developing a retention plan which would focus on softer elements of HR such as communication, coaching and personal development.\nDeveloping employee talent: Much discussion took place over the crucial role of the line managers in developing talent and creating more space to understand what make each employee tick. There was a shared understanding of the management time and effort this took and a concern that often there is not enough time to devote to this ongoing communication. One respondent described ways of freeing up managers time by devolving some managerial responsibility to small groups of employees (for example, this organisation gave staff the rota to organise). This was seen to provide employees with valuable development opportunities and increased feelings of autonomy and responsibility while releasing the manager from a job that she disliked and allowing her more time to focus on the leadership and communication part of her job.Another organisation discussed how they encouraged employees to take more responsibility for their own development:[...] tell us what your development needs are; tell us about the skills that you have and how we can develop them to the mutual benefit of the business and yourselves and we will do our best to support you.To illustrate how unaware managers are of the latent talent in employees, they cited the example of an employee who was working as a porter but who had previously been a qualified interior designer in Poland. Nobody realised this until the department was being refurbished and the employee started to offer valuable advice. This organisation had recently implemented regular job chats and continuing professional development activity planning for all levels of staff to assist with communication and highlight employee aspirations as part of the TM process.The problems of administering the development process were discussed by a number of respondents and this emerged as an area of concern. Respondents understood that administration of training needs analysis was necessary underpinning for TM strategies to work. One manager discussed the challenge of translating the development needs identified in the twice-yearly appraisal into a training plan. Twice yearly appraisals generated over 400 training needs proformas, each with a number of possible training and development interventions:I could spend 3 months compiling a full training plan, discussing each individuals needs with the manager, organising the training and planning the training and communicating it to the individuals but I have to be realistic. I don't have time for this and other areas take priority so I operate a system whereby I read each form, summarise the most commonly mentioned training needs arising and plan these into next quarters training plan. I know I will not be able to satisfy all individuals' aspirations. The rest of the development we offer is demand led, whereby a member of staff identifies a development opportunity, presents a good business case and with manager authorisation it will be arranged. It needs to be more formal but this is the best we can do with the resources we have.This example clearly demonstrates the tension between the rhetoric and reality of TM where good practice gives way to organisational pressures and resource constraints.There were also concerns around senior management and managing director level regarding knowing what an appropriate training intervention would be at this level to keep their skills current and developed.\nTransitioning talent: Transitioning talent was described to the respondents as the point at which an employee or leaders responsibilities and skills change as a result of promotion from one level to another. These transitions require significant effort and personal transformation from employees if they are to be competent at their new level. The CIPD (2006b) describe the main principles of transition as focusing on ensuring that:*one level of development feeds smoothly into the next;*leaders learn the skills they will always need as early as possible and have access to those skills needed for the next level before they get to it; and*leaders know what the unique contribution of each stage of leadership must be to the business and are driven towards and supported in making this shift.There were some excellent examples of structured transition paths, for example, one respondent described:[...] we have clearly defined 3 grades of management and associated levels of responsibility. For each we have a web based training programme so we have a clearly defined pathway for our staff who want to move from supervisor to deputy unit manager.There was also a view that while some organisations had clearly defined generic transition processes defining what skills and training each level required, there needed to be a more individualised approach for some categories of talent:We need to tailor transition programmes to individuals rather than a one size fits all approach.Once you get to general manager level the training is more bespoke and informal - driven more by the individual.There were also a number of concerns raised by respondents, the most challenging area appeared to be the transition from middle to senior management, for example, from bar or restaurant manager to food and beverage manager or deputy general manager.We have a bit of stagnation at this level and a bit of a glass ceiling and as a result we loose good people.A strong theme centred around whether the sector might promote individuals too soon without giving enough attention to whether the promoted employee has the necessary skills to be able to cope at the new level. As a result of high turnover rates, some organisations felt that their guidelines for transition were not always followed due to recruitment pressures and the need to fill vacancies within a certain timescale. This was driving organisations to reactive approaches with subsequent problems as illustrated by the following quotes:We have a reactive approach to transitioning talent - we react to vacancies when they arise and fill them with good internal people.We offer excellent internal promotion opportunities but sometimes we are too reactive. We need a person in post now so we have a tendency to promote too soon. This fast track approach requites a lot of development in the first few months and sometimes we just don't have the management time to support and coach these individuals - we are setting them up to fail.I feel we promote people too soon into first line manager positions - we underestimate the demands on people with no managerial or supervisory experience - they may have lots of talent but they don't have the right amount of experience or confidence to manage teams of people. This is symptomatic of our sector.The role of a performance appraisal in preparing employees for transition and promotion was seen to be important. Most organisations had sophisticated systems in operation but many were under review and it was felt that the appraisal itself and the training, development and commitment of managers towards this process would benefit from further development in order to strengthen the TM system:Our appraisal process is a bit outdated and laborious We have got a very lengthy appraisal that takes about two days to complete.Managers tick the boxes but I am not convinced that the process is as rewarding as it could be for employees.\nConclusions: The discussions highlighted much enthusiasm around the concept of TM and uncovered some excellent practice but there were clearly a number of challenges facing managers around the area of TM and these are summarised below. Practical implications arising from these are discussed in Tables I-V:*There was a clear commitment towards and enthusiasm for all elements of TM but many organisations were aware that their approach would benefit from further development.*No shortage of talent mentioned as a real concern but retention and development issues were significant for all contributors.*Retention centred around meeting employees expectations and holding on to them until a suitable promoted position arose - this sometimes proved problematic and resulted in talent being promoted too early.*Approaches to TM were organisation specific, and driven by internal expertise and available resources - organisations would fit and tailor their TM approach to their own context.*Managers were acutely aware of the dynamic nature of TM strategies and tried to adapt their approaches to emerging social, professional and industry trends.*A range of approaches were adopted towards TM to include a number of informal but effective approaches.*Organisations acknowledged the need to offer good performance management systems to draw together elements of TM.*Respondents emphasised the necessity for talented employees to take some responsibility for their own development, be self-motivated and build their self-belief and confidence.*Senior managers development appeared to be subordinated to the development of supervisors and middle managers.*Managers need to take responsibility for TM particularly the motivation, coaching, mentoring and ongoing communication.*Resource constraints, particularly in the form of management time to engage fully with TM was seen as a key concern.Senior managers from the following companies took part in this discussion. Their contribution and participation is gratefully acknowledged.Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian; Hilton Hotels, Edinburgh; The Town House Company, Edinburgh; Sheraton Hotel, Edinburgh; Karen Calvert, Montpelier's Partnership, Edinburgh; Hospitality Industry Trust, Scotland; Heritage Portfolio Ltd Edinburgh.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to explore managers' views on the challenges and opportunities around the talent management (TM) pipeline in a range of hospitality and tourism organisations. The paper seeks to focus on drawing out key issues and suggesting practical actions arising from these.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper draws primarily on a number of in-depth interviews with senior managers representing a wide range of sectors in the industry. Managers' views are summarised and quotes used to illustrate key themes.\nFindings: - Each stage of the TM pipeline is explored and the findings reveal a number of contextual, strategic and operational concerns around the implementation of TM policy and processes. Findings indicated clear commitment towards the value of TM, but revealed that some policy areas were felt to be underdeveloped. Approaches to TM were organisation specific, and driven by internal expertise and available resources. Organisations would fit and tailor their TM approach to their own context.\nPractical implications: - A number of practical implications emerge from this paper specifically relating to defining, attracting, retaining developing and transitioning talent.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides a senior management perspective on TM and allows the reader a unique insight into the complexities of managing talent in the hospitality and tourism sector, highlighting the issues that organisations are facing.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Analyzing dynamic capability in teamwork
|
[
"Knowledge management",
"Teamwork",
"Structural equation modeling",
"Dynamic capability",
"Knowledge-based system dynamic capability",
"Multi-unit service"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Competition among companies requires search for innovation to achieve improved productivity and competitiveness. Such innovation can be achieved by improving organizational competences, that is, through a company's dynamic capability (Martini et al., 2013; O'Reilly and Tushman, 2008). Teece et al. (1997) found that leading companies are those that achieve rapid response of product and process innovation through the development of dynamic capabilities.\n2. Dynamic capability and knowledge-based dynamic capability: The concept of dynamic capability is an extension of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, which states that the firm's resources and heterogeneity allow competitive advantages (Teece et al., 1997). Considering the changes in the environment and the challenges proposed by the competition, the RBV has been complemented by two concepts: dynamic capability and knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm (Hitt et al., 2016; Gutierrez et al., 2018).\n3. Teamwork: A team can be considered as the smallest unit in which members of an organization work together (Shin et al., 2012). Team members share and apply common knowledge to perform tasks and achieve organizational goals and objectives.\n4. Hypotheses and study model: According to the learning model 4I (intuition, interpretation, integration and institutionalization) proposed by Crossan et al. (1999), the learning process starts at the individual level. First, intuition foresees the creation of new insights and the generation of new ideas. This stage of the learning process is extremely importance for the development of dynamic capability and innovation, as it accesses a platform of tacit knowledge that allows an individual to analyze and propose new possibilities (Crossan and Berdrow, 2003). Interpretation involves a verbal explanation of the insights and ideas of an individual. In this process, the individual should be able to convert tacit knowledge related to own experiences into explicit acts that are communicable to other members of the organization (Crossan et al., 1999). The stages of intuition and interpretation follow more individualistic patterns to access and expand an employee's repository of tacit knowledge.\n5. Methodological procedures: 5.1 Data collection\n6. Results and analyses: 6.1 Measurement model\n7. Discussion and conclusions: This study investigated how dynamic capability is affected by intrinsic characteristics of teamwork in the context of companies that provide specialized industrial services. This study integrates two factors (infrastructural factors and factors related to the team members' willingness to share and integrate knowledge) that support the concepts of RBV and KBV. The literature indicates a close relationship between contextual factors of the organization, such as organizational culture, leadership style, human resources development and organizational structure, in relation to dynamic capability (Zheng et al., 2011; Gonzalez and Melo, 2017; Lowik et al., 2016). However, the literature on the subject has no studies that assess dynamic capability in work teams. Therefore, the results of this study expand the understanding of dynamic capability in the context of multi-unit teamwork.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to analyze the relationship between the intrinsic characteristics of the teams that perform specialized industrial services in multi-units and dynamic capability.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study was developed from a survey conducted in 188 multi-unit industrial service providers and data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique of partial least squares.\nFindings: The results indicate the two constructs act differently on dynamic capability. While the infrastructural construct influences the capability of knowledge absorption, generation and adaptation, the construct related to the willingness to share and integrate knowledge has a positive impact on the capability of knowledge generation and storage.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research is limited by the choice of only one industrial sector - in the case of this study, the service industry. Future studies will include other industries and a more diverse sample of firms.\nOriginality/value: This research analyzes the process of dynamic capability development in the context of multi-unit service provision. The context of multi-unit industrial service provision is peculiar when compared to other organizations. In the context, knowledge is absorbed, generated and adapted by individuals organized into teams that work in customer's units. Service providers play a key role in the development of dynamic capabilities regarding knowledge storage, acting as knowledge repositories.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
How not to quit your job: Effect of leadership on motivation and quitting intentions of employees
|
[
"Employee motivation",
"Ethical leadership",
"Emotional leadership",
"Job performance",
"Quitting intentions"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nReview: One of the very few positive outcomes to emerge from the coronavirus epidemic in 2020 was the huge shift in people's attitude to their working life. The positives were two-fold. Firstly, people reappraised why their job was important to them, and whether it was worth the increased perception of risk that may have entered their day-to-day working life. Suddenly, for the waitress or the police officer, the heightened exposure to a virus, and everything else that came with the job, may have come into much sharper focus. Maybe it made them appreciate their job more; maybe it made them think it wasn't worth the risk and quit.\nLeadership and motivation: While the shift in people's attitudes may have led them to quit or work in their roles with renewed energy, it would be a mistake to believe that this was wholly down to the coronavirus pandemic. Their attitudes to their job, their organizations and their bosses in the first place would still play a major role in their decision-making - the coronavirus simply acted as a catalyst for many to look again at their work-life balance and sense of satisfaction in their job. One part of this equation that is rarely looked at is the role of the leader, the type of leadership style they employ, and the impact this has not only on motivations for people to do their jobs, but in their motivations to carry on doing their jobs and not to quit.\nEmotional or ethical?: Firstly, the leaders define what emotional and ethical leadership means. Emotional leaders are described as honest and principled individuals who establish clear ethical standards, so that employees know where they stand when it comes to moral values of the organization. As such, the type of motivation likely to be driven by ethical leaders is intrinsic, coming from within employees. Emotional leaders, on the other hand, are skilled at measuring their own and other people's feelings, and as such can influence people's positive feelings toward an organization. Again, this should feed employee's intrinsic motivation in their roles.\nResearch findings: To carry out these tests, the authors asked over 1,000 employees of public sector organizations in Kuwait to complete questionnaires with highly detailed questions and analysis to tease out their attitudes to the searching questions detailed by the authors' study. When the analysis was completed, the authors found that while most of the tests were passed, there were two significant failures. For both ethical and emotional styles of leadership, while they are both positively associated with employee motivations, which in turn are seen to mediate the relationship between those leadership styles and job performance, those leadership styles are not positively linked with job performance.\nComment: The article \"Ethical leadership, emotional leadership, and quitting intentions in public organizations: Does employee motivation play a role?\" by Ouakouak et al. (2020) is set in the Kuwaiti public sector, but has a number of outcomes that can be transported elsewhere. It is interesting to see emotional and ethical styles of leadership compared and both to be seen to be generally effective, and also to observe the impact on employees' intentions to quit their jobs. The key point underlying the whole study is that positive engagement from leaders is key to motivating high-performing employees.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: One of the very few positive outcomes to emerge from the coronavirus epidemic in 2020 was the huge shift in people's attitude to their working life. The positives were two-fold. Firstly, people reappraised why their job was important to them, and whether it was worth the increased perception of risk that may have entered their day-to-day working life. Suddenly, for the waitress or the police officer, the heightened exposure to a virus, and everything else that came with the job, may have come into much sharper focus. Maybe it made them appreciate their job more; maybe it made them think it wasn't worth the risk and quit.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds his/her own impartial comments and places the articles in context.\nFindings: One of the very few positive outcomes to emerge from the coronavirus epidemic in 2020 was the huge shift in people's attitude to their working life. The positives were two-fold. Firstly, people reappraised why their job was important to them, and whether it was worth the increased perception of risk that may have entered their day-to-day working life. Suddenly, for the waitress or the police officer, the heightened exposure to a virus, and everything else that came with the job, may have come into much sharper focus. Maybe it made them appreciate their job more; maybe it made them think it wasn't worth the risk and quit.\nOriginality/value: The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
A study of whistle-blowing intentions of teachers working in higher education sector
|
[
"India",
"Whistleblowing",
"Higher education sector",
"Teaching professionals",
"Wrong doings"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: No sector is immune from corruption and fraud, and higher education sector is no exception. Corruption in the higher education sector is a prevailing problem in the developing and developed nations. In the developed countries, major reasons of corruption are related to the commercialization of higher education and the tendency of converting academic institutions to corporate style money generating entities (Mohamedbhai, 2016). On the other hand, in the developing countries, corruption arises because of the increased competition among students, teachers and higher education institutions (HEIs). The pressure on the students to obtain admission in reputed academic institutions and to succeed once admitted is one of the major causes of corruption. Similarly, the pressure of research and publications on the teachers leads to many academic frauds in HEIs (Mohamedbhai, 2016). The popular types of wrong doings which occur at HEIs in developing countries include charging for admissions; malpractices in the examination process; issuing fake credentials and selling academic positions on the basis of widespread nepotism; fake accreditation listings and rankings, and malpractices related to research and publications such as plagiarism, fabrication and distortion of data and research results, manipulation of statistics, mushrooming of fake journals and publications[1].\n2. Literature review and hypotheses development: 2.1 Whistleblowing\n3. Research method: The respondents of this study are the teachers working with HEIs in NOIDA (India). Survey method of descriptive research design is used to obtain the primary data regarding selected individual, organizational and situational variables deemed to influence HEI teachers' internal and external whistleblowing intentions. A self-administered structured questionnaire is used as survey instrument for primary data collection.\n4. Results: Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were conducted for testing the normality of all the variables in the research model. As the variables were not found to be normally distributed (p-values < 0.05 for all variables), therefore appropriate non-parametric tests were used for testing the hypotheses instead of parametric tests.\n5. Discussion: The findings of the present research show that teachers in HEIs are interested in blowing the whistle against the wrongdoings witnessed or experienced by them. However, the levels of their whistleblowing intention depend on various factors including individual factors, situational factors and organizational factors. The findings indicate that the HEI teachers are more likely to blow the whistle internally if there is a proper communication channel in their organization for reporting wrongdoings. High status of wrongdoer and high costs of reporting discourage the teachers to blow the whistle internally. However, if the wrongdoer holds a very powerful position in the organization, then the teachers prefer to report his wrongdoing to external agencies as they are afraid of the likely negative repercussions of reporting against him internally. In case of serious wrongdoings, the teachers intend to blow the whistle within the organization rather than going to external agencies probably because they do not want to spoil the image of their organization in the external world. The study has also found that teachers who belong to older age groups, have higher work experience and hold senior positions in the organization are more likely to blow the whistle both internally and externally as compared to those who are young and relatively junior in the organization.\n6. Conclusion: The present study has empirically examined HEI teachers' perceptions of whistleblowing and their likelihood of blowing the whistle internally and externally. The study has concluded that the HEI teachers are more likely to blow the whistle internally than externally. They intend to report the wrongdoings within their organizations rather than going outside and report the cases to some external agencies. But their intention to blow the whistle is significantly influenced by the availability of reporting channels in their organizations. They are more likely to blow the whistle internally if there is a proper communication channel in their organization for reporting wrongdoings. In the absence of a communication channel, they are less likely to report the wrongdoings to the internal authorities probably due to high costs involved such as retaliation or fear of losing their jobs. However, they do not hesitate to blow the whistle externally in the absence of internal reporting channel, especially in those cases of wrongdoings where they perceive the cost of reporting to be high. The status of wrongdoer along with the cost of reporting, also matter a lot in the teachers' intentions to blow the whistle. The high status of the wrongdoer and high costs of reporting discourage the teachers to blow the whistle internally. However, if the wrongdoer holds a very powerful position in the organization, then the teachers prefer to report his wrongdoing to external agencies as they are afraid of the likely negative repercussions of reporting against him internally. In case of serious wrongdoings, the teachers intend to blow the whistle within the organization rather than going to external agencies probably because they do not want to spoil the image of their organization in the external world. It has also been concluded that the organizational support motivates the HEI teachers for blowing the whistle against wrongdoings, both internally and externally. The teachers working with an Institution which supports them and stand for them, feel more confident and are more likely to report the acts of wrongdoings. The study has also found that teachers who belong to older age groups, have higher work experience and hold senior positions in the organization are more likely to blow the whistle both internally and externally as compared to those who are young and relatively junior in the organization.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explore the key factors which influence whistleblowing intentions of teachers working with higher education institutions (HEIs) in India. Both internal and external whistleblowing intentions of the HEI teachers are studied by examining their relative intentions to report a potential wrongdoing to the authorities within the management of the institution and to the external statutory bodies. The reporting intentions of the HEI teachers are measured through the use of three vignettes related to academic frauds. Whistleblowing intentions are proposed to be determined by the individual, organizational and situational factors.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Survey method of descriptive research design has been used to obtain the primary data regarding the individual, organizational and situational variables deemed to influence HEI teachers' internal and external whistleblowing intentions. A self-administered structured questionnaire is used as survey instrument for primary data collection. The respondents' internal and external whistleblowing intentions are measured through the use of three vignettes related to academic frauds. Non-parametric tests such as Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman correlations have been used to test the research hypotheses.\nFindings: The study has found that the HEI teachers are more likely to blow the whistle internally if there is a proper communication channel in their organization for reporting wrongdoings. However, they do not hesitate to blow the whistle externally in the absence of internal reporting channel, especially in those cases of wrongdoings where they perceive the cost of reporting to be high. The high status of the wrongdoer and high costs of reporting discourage the teachers to blow the whistle internally. However, if the wrongdoer holds a very powerful position in the organization, then the teachers prefer to report his wrongdoing to external agencies as they are afraid of the likely negative repercussions of reporting against him internally. In case of serious wrongdoings, the teachers intend to blow the whistle within the organization rather than going to external agencies probably because they do not want to spoil the image of their organization in the external world.\nResearch limitations/implications: The first limitation is that because of the unavailability of pre-tested vignettes in the context of academic frauds, the study has used three vignettes which have been developed on the basis of few case studies. Second, the results showed the existence of social desirability bias across all the three vignettes. Also, the study has been conducted among teaching professionals; therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to the professionals of other sectors.\nPractical implications: The findings of the study may bring awareness to the board of management of HEIs, regarding the importance of whistleblowing in their educational institutions. They should encourage the teachers working with their institutions to report the wrongdoings internally as external reporting may cause damage to their institute's reputation. Proper reporting mechanisms should be designed and shared with the employees as a part of institutional culture.\nSocial implications: The Whistle Blowers Protection Act passed by the Parliament of India in 2011 should be amended to include the private sector employees, especially the teachers working in higher education sector. This will encourage the HEI teachers to report the academic frauds fearlessly which will put a serious check on the growing number of frauds and wrongdoings in the education sector.\nOriginality/value: Previous research studies have discussed the factors influencing whistleblowing intentions in the context of various non-academic organizations. However, existing research has not adequately provided a better understanding of the influencing factors of whistleblowing intentions in higher education sector. The present paper addresses this gap by empirically examining the key factors which influence HEI teachers' intentions of blowing the whistle and reporting the wrongdoings occurring in their institutions, in Indian context. An attempt has been made to identify the influencing factors of both internal and external whistleblowing intentions by using three different vignettes related with academic frauds.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Power of partnerships: What makes a difference in reducing maternal mortality and how can Canadians contribute?
|
[
"Training",
"Teamwork",
"Governance structures",
"Population health",
"Family medicine",
"Midwifery",
"Obstetrics",
"Maternal child health",
"Behavioural social or mental health issues",
"Gynecology"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are one of the leading causes of death and disability among women in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs), second to HIV/AID (World Health Organization, 2009). Between 2014 and 2015, 90 percent of worldwide maternal deaths occurred in LMICs (Alkema et al., 2015), which demonstrates the severity of this timely issue. In 1990, the United Nations (UN) proposed eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), all aimed at improving the quality of life by 2015. Among these eight MDGs, Goal 4 targeted the reduction of child mortality by two-thirds, while Goal 5 aimed to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters (Hogan et al., 2010). To date, these two goals still have not been met in several LMICs. Critical gaps in maternal health strategies, such as human right challenges and availability and quality of healthcare for pregnant women and neonates, continue to exist past 2015 (Kendall and Langer, 2015). Although maternal mortality rates have decreased from their 1990 level, this decrease has been slower than anticipated, which further complicated achievement of Goal 5. One of the intentions of this paper is to assist with the reduction of maternal mortality in LMICs that have not met the UN MDG goals. Many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address the social determent of maternal health such as clean water, gender equality, peace, justice and ending hunger and poverty.\n2. Methods: Literature relating to maternal health and mortality in LMIC nations was retrieved and reviewed, coupled with a summary of currently existing support programs administered by Canada and other developed nations to LMICs. Relevant literature was searched through PubMed, Medline, OVID, Web of Science, CINAHL using these search terms: \"midwives,\" \"global maternal mortality,\" \"maternal death,\" \"neonatal death,\" \"millennium development goal 4 & 5,\" \"obstetrical complications,\" \"postpartum haemorrhage,\" \"Misoprostol,\" \"gender inequality,\" \"traditional birth attendants,\" \"TBAs,\" \"Canada,\" \"partnership for reducing maternal death,\" \"SDGs\" and \"post 2015.\"A compilation of these articles was created. From this initial literature search, we realized that minimal scholarly work on the topic of Canada's role in improving global maternal health existed.\n3. Findings and discussion: The insights offered from experts in maternal mortality will be discussed in more detail in response to the following four questions: what are some equity issues implicated in maternal mortality? What clinical initiatives have been shown to work? What offerings can Canadians make to reduce maternal mortality? What is the potential role of holistic healthcare and traditional medicine in reducing maternal mortality? This section of the paper includes considerations for keeping up the momentum for global maternal mortality reduction efforts.\n4. Key points: Canada is not a driver of global maternal mortality reduction work but has a responsibility to work in partnership with countries or regions in a humble and supportive role.\n5. Conclusions: Canada, with its new Feminist International Assistance Policy, is an emerging leader in global maternal health, and like other such nations, has an ongoing responsibility to work in partnership with LMICs in a humble, supportive role to reduce maternal deaths. Applying a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to maternal mortality reduction in LMICs includes adopting a CHC approach to address social determinants of health and integrate various systems of evidence-informed healthcare with a commitment to social justice. Interdisciplinary teams show the greatest promise for realizing the goal of better women's health, especially if they include literacy professionals, researchers, midwives, nurses, family physicians, OB/GYNs and community development professionals who specialize in anti-poverty work, mediation, dialogue and education campaigns that emphasize the value of all people regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion and income. Diasporic Canadians are invaluable members of these teams due to their linguistic and cultural knowledge, as well as their enthusiasm for working with their countries of origin. Long-term partnerships between a region/nation and a Canadian team of 5-10 years dedicated to reducing maternal mortality and improving women's health are ideal. Canada's midwifery education programs are world leaders so connecting midwives from Canada with those of the LMIC will facilitate knowledge transfer such as using birth plans and other evidence-based practices. Having skilled attendants at the place of birth will save women's lives and, in most cases, trained midwives are the most appropriate attendants.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are struggling to reduce maternal mortality rates, despite increased efforts by the United Nations through the implementation of their Millennium Development Goals program. Industrialized nations, such as Canada, have a collaborative role to play in raising the global maternal health standards. The purpose of this paper is to propose policy approaches for Canadians and other Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations who wish to assist in reducing maternal mortality rates.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Ten Canadian health experts with experience in global maternal health were interviewed. Using qualitative analytical methods, the authors coded and themed their responses and paired them with peer-reviewed literature in this area to establish a model for improving global maternal health and survival rates.\nFindings: Findings from this study indicated that maternal health may be improved by establishing a collaborative approach between interdisciplinary teams of health professionals (e.g. midwives, family physicians, OB/GYNs and nurses), literacy teachers, agriculturalists and community development professionals (e.g. humanitarians with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds). From this, a conceptual approach was devised for elevating the standard of maternal health. This approach includes specifications by which maternal health may be improved, such as gender justice, women's literacy, freedom from violence against women, food and water security and healthcare accessibility. This model is based on community health center (CHC) models that integrate upstream changes with downstream services may be utilized by Canada and other OECD nations in efforts to enhance maternal health at home and abroad.\nResearch limitations/implications: Maternal mortality may be reduced by the adoption of a CHC model, an approach well suited for all nations regardless of economic status. Establishing such a model in LMICs would ideally establish long-term relationships between countries, such as Canada and the LMICs, where teams from supporting nations would collaborate with local Ministries of Health, non-government organizations as well as traditional birth attendants and healthcare professionals to reduce maternal mortality.\nPractical implications: All OECD Nations ought to donate 0.7 percent of their GDP toward international community development. These funds should break the tradition of \"tied aid\", thereby removing profit motives, and genuinely contribute to the wellbeing of people in LMICs, particularly women, children and others who are vulnerable. The power of partnerships between people whose aims are genuinely focused on caring is truly transformative.\nSocial implications: Canada is not a driver of global maternal mortality reduction work but has a responsibility to work in partnership with countries or regions in a humble and supportive role. Applying a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to reducing maternal mortality in the Global South includes adopting a CHC model: a community development approach to address social determinants of health and integrating various systems of evidence-informed healthcare with a commitment to social justice. Interdisciplinary teams would include literacy professionals, researchers, midwives, nurses, family physicians, OB/GYNs and community development professionals who specialize in anti-poverty work, mediation/dialogue and education campaigns that emphasize the value of all people regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion and income. Diasporic Canadians are invaluable members of these teams due to their linguistic and cultural knowledge as well as their enthusiasm for working with their countries of origin. Establishment of long-term partnerships of 5-10 years between a Canadian team and a region or nation in the Global South that is dedicated to reducing maternal mortality and improving women's health are valuable. Canada's midwifery education programs are rated as world leaders so connecting midwives from Canada with those of the Global South will facilitate essential transfer of knowledge such as using birth plans and other evidence-based practices. Skilled attendants at the birth place will save women's lives; in most cases, trained midwives are the most appropriate attendants. Video link to a primer about this paper by Dr Farah Shroff: https://maa.med.ubc.ca/videos-and-media/.\nOriginality/value: There are virtually no retrievable articles that document why OECD nations ought to work with nations in the LMICs to improve maternal health. This paper outlines the reasons why it is important and explains how to do it well.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Antecedents and outcomes of non-profit public service motivation in Korean NPOs
|
[
"National cultures",
"Human resource management",
"Organizational culture",
"Motivation (psychology)",
"Human capital",
"Surveys",
"Social capital",
"Public sector organizations",
"Attitudes",
"Work psychology"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, increased attention has been paid to non-profit organizations (NPOs) due to their essential duty of satisfying social needs and public services. Growing societal needs and increasing competition for donors and grants has resulted in NPOs' environments requiring more human and physical capital than in previous years. In order to conquer NPOs' turbulent internal and/or external environments, employees are increasingly forced to display intrinsic motivation, referred to as public service motivation (PSM) (Chen et al., 2014; Park, 2012). While PSM has received theoretical and empirical research attention due to its positive effects on public employees and organizations (Rainey and Steinbauer, 1999), a review of the literature on work motivation in NPOs reveals little attention to the influence of PSM in the NPO research arena. (We named PSM in NPOs the non-profit service motivation (NPSM), or non-profit PSM.) (Park, 2012; Word and Carpenter, 2013). Based on this background, we investigate and contribute to the development of a more comprehensive model of PSM in NPOs.\n2. Theoretical perspective: 2.1. Overarching theoretical framework: SDT\n3. Research methods: This research investigated the relationships among antecedents (HRD, PMSs), mediators (P-O fit, NPSM), and consequences (accountability) in the Korean non-profit sector. We first employed the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and CFA to operationalize variables and confirm latent constructs from the survey questions. Second, to confirm the total, direct, and indirect effects, we employed a full SEM (i.e. a measurement model with a path model) using AMOS 18.0 to test interrelationships among variables and to assess the relative strength of each variable. The full SEM allows for non-recursive paths and simultaneous tests of the relationship(s) of variables.\n4. Analyses and results: After employing the EFA and CFA as well as adopting a full SEM (with NPSM as the key mediator), we hypothesized that the three types of NPSM among Korean NPO employees are influenced by the effects of P-O fit and increased internal and external accountability. Finally, we proposed that P-O fit is influenced by HRD practices and PMSs, and increased NPSM. Moreover, to assess whether P-O fit and NPSM mediate the effects of a set of antecedents on outcome variables, we used a Sobel Z statistic test and a bootstrap method.\n5. Discussion, implications, and conclusion: This study investigated the role of NPSM as a cognitive dimension of the enhancement of accountability in Korean NPO employees. Hypotheses were designed to determine the antecedents and consequences of NPSM from the perspective of the self-determinantion theory, SLT, and SET. To analyze these effects, an empirical analysis was conducted using the SEM and mediation analysis. Testing the four hypotheses demonstrated the strong effects of HRD practices and PMSs on NPSM, which may be influenced by Korean NPOs' organizational systems and institutions. Additionally, P-O fit was confirmed to play a critical role by mediating the formative and summative HRM approach (i.e. HRD practices and PMSs) among employees in Korean NPOs.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of non-profit service motivation (NPSM) as a cognitive dimension in the enhancement of managerial accountability of Korean NGO employees. Hypotheses and a research model were designed to determine the antecedent and consequence factors of NPSM from the perspective of the self-determinants theory, social learning theory, and social exchange theory.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study relies on quantitative data obtained from Korean NGO survey questionnaires. The sample consists of 400 employees working for NGOs. The performance evaluations were conducted within a one-year period.\nFindings: Results of the study demonstrate that training and development are the keys to leading employees' value congruence and motivation. The authors also confirmed that person-organizational (P-O) fit is directly associated with NPSM. Finally, intrinsically motivated NGO employees would boost the level of managerial accountability among the Korean NGO employees through organization and socialization.\nResearch limitations/implications: Through applying Perry's original public service motivation (PSM) scale including rational, normative, and affective values, the exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis results confirmed that the constructs of NPSM were valid and reliable in the Korean NGOs. Additionally, it might also explain the locus of causality of self-determination theory, and how it changes people's motivation. Finally, the authors confirmed that organizational systems are notable in terms of increasing P-O fit, strengthening intrinsic motivation, and increasing organizational consequences.\nPractical implications: This study confirms that human resource development (HRD) practices and performance management system (PMS) act as very effective managerial tools for nurturing positive and constructive social exchange relationships between organizational constituents, and for developing human resources in the NGOs. This is evident in cases of individuals being given extensive participation rights when it comes to decision making (Leana et al., 1992; Mayer and Schoorman, 1998). The benefit of this reality is twofold: it strengthens individuals' perceptions of self, fostering intrinsic motivation, and it also acts as a buffer of sorts between individuals and external pressures, weakening extrinsic motivation.\nSocial implications: There exists a notion that well-made organizational systems and policies should be regarded as more important because certain informal or relational social interactions and communications (e.g. HRD programs) or PMS policies (e.g. service monitoring systems, finance monitoring systems, and HR and organizational monitoring systems) prevail in the cultural characteristics of NGOs. Based on this notion, allowing P-O fit, intrinsic motives, and accountable behaviors to function as invisible but very persuasive norms, rules, and informal regulations for leaders and subordinates will help make NGOs successful.\nOriginality/value: Given that most Korean non-profit organizations are very small and lack formal HR departments or functions, it is possible that this lack of formality has been somewhat responsible for the shortage of research on the outstanding aspects and issues surrounding non-profit HR management and the motivation of non-profit employees. However, as the non-profit sector has become more professionalized and specialized in terms of training, development, and identity, the need to understand HR issues and employee motivation is vital to improve both employee management and organizational strategies. The aim of this research is to further the understanding of what makes the non-profit workforce distinct. The authors believe that the similarities in terms of motivation for public and non-profit employees allowed us to use a modified version of Perry's (1996) scale in the study to examine NPSM. However, drawing on these various and diverse perspectives on PSM and NPSM, especially in the Korean context, the authors define NPSM as \"intrinsically and voluntarily driven attitudes and dispositions that lead to more service delivery, fundraising, and volunteering activities in the non-profit agencies.\"\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Service quality in contracted facilities
|
[
"Pakistan",
"Balanced scorecard",
"Contracting",
"Maternal and neonatal health",
"Quality care",
"Rural health centres"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Globally, there is a reduction in under five and maternal deaths, but the progress is not sufficient to achieve Millennium Development Goals four and five by 2015 (UNICEF, 2008; UNICEF, 2013). This progress is less pronounced in low-income countries (LICs) where 99 percent of maternal and newborn mortalities occur (Peterson et al., 2012). With a high maternal and neonatal mortality (276/100,000 and 55/1,000, respectively) Pakistan contributes to 50 percent under five deaths (UNICEF, 2013; NIPS, 2008). This is not surprising. Essential quality components; skilled birth attendants, well-equipped health facilities, essential drugs and supplies, administrative capacity and referral linkages are missing in Pakistan's healthcare system (PAIMAN, 2005).\nMethods: Study design\nData analysis: Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences v.19.0 to assess any significant difference between intervention and control RHCs. Mean scores on appropriate staffing, availability of drugs, supplies and equipment, Health Management Information System (HMIS) records, knowledge of staff about standard MNH danger signs, staff communication to mothers about newborn, antenatal and post-partum danger signs are all reported as a percentage of maximum possible scores. The rest of the indicators are reported as percentages (Table II).\nFindings: Altogether six RHCs (two contracted, four non-contracted) were surveyed. In total, 36 healthcare providers (12 from contracted facilities and 24 from non-contracted facilities) and 60 patients (20 from contracted and 40 from non-contracted facilities) were interviewed. The results are presented using the BSC domains as the assessment framework. Among the 20 BSC indicators, only patient's inclination for facility-based delivery showed significant difference (p=0.006) between contracted and non-contracted facilities. This shows that most pregnant women using services were also willing to deliver their baby at contracted facilities compared to non-contracted ones (80 vs 43 percent). The remaining 19 indicators showed that contracted facilities performed better in all BSC dimensions. The results, however, were not significant (Table II).\nDiscussion: Expectant mothers' inclination to deliver their baby at the contracted facilities was much higher compared to their preference to do so at the non-contracted RHCs. As shown by exit client interviews, ANC users favored home delivery owing to weak infrastructure and insufficient lady doctors at the non-contracted facilities. These results are substantiated by studies in India, Cambodia and Bolivia, where an increase in facility-based deliveries has been reported with different contracting modalities (Mavalankar et al., 2009; Soeters and Griffiths, 2003; Bloom et al., 2006; Lavadenz, 2001). Although satisfaction with ANC services was reported high in both facilities, ANC users at contracted RHCs were more satisfied with overall consultation. Similar findings have been reported from Gautemala and Romania where client's satisfaction with MCH services was better with contracting schemes rather than traditional public delivery models (Danel and La Forgia, 2005; Vladescu and Radulescu, 2002).\nConclusions and recommendations: The study supports contracting initiatives and highlights their potential to improve MNH quality. There is however, a need for sound governance and management to periodically bridge staff capacity and to supervise staff-performance. The BSC approach can be used as a benchmark for monitoring improvement in quality of care indicators. Lessons learnt from this baseline comparative HFA can be used to extend contracting initiatives in Pakistan.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the readiness of contracted and non-contracted first-level healthcare facilities in Pakistan to deliver quality maternal and neonatal health (MNH) care. A balanced scorecard (BSC) was used as the assessment framework.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a cross-sectional study design, two rural health centers (RHCs) contracted out to Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan were compared with four government managed RHCs. A BSC was designed to assess RHC readiness to deliver good quality MNH care. In total 20 indicators were developed, representing five BSC domains: health facility functionality, service provision, staff capacity, staff and patient satisfaction. Validated data collection tools were used to collect information. Pearson kh2, Fisher's Exact and the Mann-Whitney tests were applied as appropriate to detect significant service quality differences among the two facilities.\nFindings: Contracted facilities were generally found to be better than non-contracted facilities in all five BSC domains. Patients' inclination for facility-based delivery at contracted facilities was, however, significantly higher than non-contracted facilities (80 percent contracted vs 43 percent non-contracted, p=0.006).\nPractical implications: The study shows that contracting out initiatives have the potential to improve MNH care.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study to compare MNH service delivery quality across contracted and non-contracted facilities using BSC as the assessment framework.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Rejuvenating aging studies in academic libraries
|
[
"Interdisciplinary",
"Faculty",
"Gerontology",
"Gerontology resources",
"Grey literature",
"Library liaisons",
"Aging studies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: A total of 10,000 baby boomers (individuals born between 1946 and 1964) are turning 65 today, and about 10,000 more will do so every day for the next 19 years (Pew Research Center, 2010). The number of Americans age 65 or older is projected to be 88.5 million people, more than double the 65 and older cohort in 2010. Consequently, baby boomers will make up most of this growth in our older population (Hooyman and Kiyak, 2011; Vincent and Velkoff, 2010).\nLiterature review: Gerontology is the scientific study that focuses on the biopsychosocial aspects of aging and the application of policies, programs, and practices. It encompasses many academic disciplines (generally biology, sociology, psychology, and social work), unlike the medical specialty of geriatrics that is more concerned with the physical health and care of older adults by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities (AGHE, 2011) (See Figure 1).\nMethodology: The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the information-seeking behaviors and the resources, including grey literature, used by faculty teaching in non-clinical graduate-level gerontology programs. A judgment, non-probability sample of participants was contacted in February and March 2013 and asked to complete a web-based survey consisting of 12 forced-choice and open-ended questions. Prior to distribution, five faculty members and professionals associated with gerontology programs pilot tested the survey. The survey was subsequently revised and then uploaded into an online survey management tool.\nResults: A total of 60 participants completed the survey with the majority, n=34 (57 percent) representing institutions offering a master's degree; 75 percent (n=45) identified their faculty appointment as being a tenured or tenure track position, and approximately half (57 percent) taught and/or conducted research in programs with fewer than 20 students. Over half of the respondents, 65 percent, reported the presence of a library point-of-contact person for gerontology. The most frequently identified area of specialization was social work, n=22 (37 percent) (Table I).\nDiscussion: The findings from this survey provided a snapshot of the current resources and library services used by gerontology faculty in their teaching and research endeavors. Results confirm that faculty teaching in gerontology use a wide variety of resources in creating their own pedagogical materials (Tables II-V). In fact, the majority of teaching faculty report that they do not have difficulty finding materials, and only 23 percent of the respondents contact a librarian for help in this process (Table II). As most faculties typically do not contact librarians for curriculum advice, this was not surprising to the authors (Arua, 2011; Kobzina, 2010; Wang, 2011).\nFuture recommendations: The authors recommend using the information to refine core or recommended lists of resources. A list based on the survey is not comprehensive, nor prescriptive, but rather provides suggestions for supporting gerontology research and teaching. This knowledge could prove beneficial in the decision-making processes in the current economic climate of diminishing funding for library materials.\nConclusion: The explosion of the older adult population coinciding with the presence and expansion of gerontology education on many college campuses in the last decade warrants further attention and discussion. While the inherent interdisciplinary nature of gerontology brings some challenges to academic libraries, these same challenges can translate into opportunities for the campus community. The findings provide valuable information about materials used for curricular and research activities at gerontology graduate degree-granting institutions. Use of this information will enhance the assistance provided by librarians in their roles and in enriching the library's collections in an increasingly interdisciplinary academic environment.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The aim of this paper is to identify resources essential gerontology (aging studies) resources and liaison strategies that provide guidance for academic librarians working with faculty and students in this highly interdisciplinary field.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A convenience sample of gerontology faculty was surveyed to identify important materials, including preferred journals, databases, reference books, and sources of grey literature for gerontology research and teaching. Gerontology faculty information seeking behaviors, including faculty-librarian partnership, were also examined.\nFindings: Results confirm that faculty teaching in gerontology use a wide variety of resources in their teaching and research. Faculty identified frequently used journals, reference materials, databases as well as sources of grey literature produced by non-profits, special interest group/lobbying organizations, educational organizations, and/or government agencies.\nResearch limitations/implications: Surveying faculty from undergraduate gerontology programs would have likely increased the number of participants completing the online questionnaire, presumably increasing the reliability of the results.\nOriginality/value: Few studies identify the resources that faculty in gerontology graduate programs value and what services the library can provide or improve. This paper addresses these gaps and recognizes the need to support the growing number of interdisciplinary programs in gerontology.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Employee expectancies for six sigma success
|
[
"Total quality management",
"Employee attitudes",
"Motivation (psychology)",
"Training"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Total quality management (TQM) has become one of the most popular forms of organizational change and employee involvement in the world (Buch and Rivers, 2001). Over the years, a consensus has emerged regarding the change process driving TQM, and the primary \"levers for change\" needed for a successful intervention. Foremost among these levers for change are employee training and organizational support for program participants (e.g. Coyle-Shapiro, 1999; Hackman and Wageman, 1995). Underlying this consensus are several assumptions on which the success of the program depends. First, it is assumed that change occurs as training imparts new knowledge needed by employees to effectively participate in the intervention. It is assumed further that employees then receive the organizational support and the resources needed to translate this knowledge into new job behaviors and organizational practices that define the intervention.However, there is little empirical support for the validity of these underlying assumptions. Indeed, Coyle-Shapiro (1999) has suggested that \"training and education as the primary change lever may not be strong enough to elicit the desired change\" (p. 3). The purpose of the current study was to test these underlying assumptions empirically by examining employee expectancy beliefs that they have both the knowledge and the organizational resources needed to effectively participate in the TQM program. As described below, employee expectancies of success play an integral role in determining motivation and performance (Vroom, 1964).The study was conducted in an organization using six sigma, an approach to organizational change that incorporates elements of TQM, business process reengineering, and employee involvement (Quinn, 2003). Below, we describe the six sigma approach to TQM, and then describe its specific implementation in the current study. We then introduce the motivational concept of expectancy, and how it can be used to test the underlying assumptions about the role of training and organizational support as levers of change driving program success. We then report the results of a study that measured employee expectancy beliefs following six sigma training. Finally, the implications of the findings for change agents and six sigma participants are discussed.The six sigma approach to change\nThe current study: research site and intervention: This study was part of a larger assessment of one American company's six sigma program. The organization employs approximately 3,660 employees: 39 percent software engineers, 43 percent network engineers, 6 percent customer care professionals, 4 percent finance professionals, and 8 percent administrative/managerial professionals. The organization had implemented a voluntary six sigma program approximately 15 months before the study was conducted. The intervention utilizes a typical six sigma framework, as described above, which is the vehicle for achieving the organization's dual goals of quality improvement and employee involvement. The program was introduced to the entire organization through a one-week green belt training program like the one described above.After initial training, employees have the option of becoming actively involved in six sigma project work. There are four levels of participation, and each is represented with one of the \"belt\" designations described above. To attain the role of green belt, participants must complete one project in which their knowledge of six sigma tools is demonstrated. For green belt certification status, a green belt requests certification from the department's six sigma \"lead\", who approves the request, issues a certificate, and maintains a record of the individual's six sigma activities. To become a black belt, a green belt certified must attend two additional weeks of training, similar in content and format to that described above. He or she must also pass a written test of six sigma tools and processes, must lead three additional six sigma projects, and must serve as a mentor to three green belts. They may then become black belt certified via the certification process described above.Six sigma projects focus on improving or streamlining work processes, and typically last two to four months. While individuals may occasionally work on projects alone, most projects involve teams of employees working together. The organization measures program success in several ways, including the number of projects that are completed in relation to the number of projects cancelled or abandoned before completion. Completed projects are considered successful if variability is reduced, work processes are streamlined, or if money is saved. It is important to point out that participation (beyond initial training) is strictly voluntary, and there is no direct monetary reward for participation or project success.\nMethodology: A total of 641 employees were invited to participate in the study via e-mail. These included all six sigma participants (n=348) and 293 randomly selected employees not involved in the six sigma program. Embedded in the e-mail was an informed consent statement ensuring that participation was voluntary and responses were confidential. The e-mail contained a link to the web address where the research questionnaire was posted. Participants were asked to respond within three weeks, and were sent an e-mail reminder to do so one week prior to the deadline. Responses to the questionnaire were directly linked to a database that was forwarded to the researchers. A total of 221 questionnaires were returned (34 percent response rate) and 216 were complete and included in the analysis.Interviews were held with organizational members involved in the six sigma program to identify a range of factors that according to the research of Green (1992) described above should affect employee expectancies of successful six sigma participation. Interviews yielded ten factors that formed two a priori expectancy scales. The first was a six-item scale measuring what green referred to as \"skill\" factors. These factors included knowledge of the six sigma tools and problem-solving process, which had been the focus of six sigma training (the amount and depth of which varied across levels of involvement, as described above). In addition to this knowledge, it was determined that successful participation requires that individuals know how to get involved and how to \"scope\" a project, have knowledge of work processes, and know how to access six sigma support tools and professionals when needed. The second scale consisted of four items measuring what green referred to as \"resource\" factors - which in the six sigma context consisted of support from management, access to quality tools and quality professionals, and adequate time to work on projects (see Table I for a complete list of all expectancy items).Based on the traditional measurement of the expectancy component in expectancy theory, each of these success factors was posed as a probability statement. A five-point Likert scale was used to rate all probability statements, ranging from 0 percent chance, to 25 percent chance, to 50/50 chance, to 75 percent chance, to 100 percent chance. The purpose of these items was to test the assumption that six sigma training, which all respondents had participated in at varying degrees, imparts new knowledge needed for employees to effectively participate in the intervention. Level of involvement was measured with a single item asking employees if they were involved in six sigma, and if so, to check their designated six sigma classification. Responses were coded as 0=not involved, 1=green belt, 2=green belt certified, 3=black belt or black belt certified.\nResults and discussion: Because the expectancy sub-scales had been developed a priori based on experts' judgments about what constituted \"skill\" and \"resource\" items, coefficient alphas for each scale were calculated. Results showed support for the a priori structure of the scales, with the coefficient alpha for the \"skills\" subscale=0.92, and the alpha for the \"resource\" subscale=0.86. Percentages were calculated for level of involvement, and revealed that 41 percent of respondents had chosen not to get involved in six sigma following initial green belt training. A total of 42 percent were green belts, 10 percent were green belt certified, and 7 percent were black belts. Due to their small numbers, black belts and black belt certifieds were combined during analysis. As described below, item and subscale means were first calculated for the total sample, and then were calculated for employee subgroups based on level of involvement in six sigma.Expectancies for six sigma knowledge and skills\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to test two common assumptions underlying the success of total quality management (TQM): that change occurs as training imparts new knowledge needed by employees to effectively participate in the intervention, and that employees then receive the organizational support needed to translate this knowledge into new job behaviors and organizational practices that define the intervention.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A survey was completed by 216 employees of a large US company 15 months after the implementation of a Fsix sigma quality improvement program. Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they had the skills and resources needed for successful participation in six sigma (success expectancies).\nFindings: - Results showed that employees as a group had low expectancies for both skills and resources, but that expectancies were significantly higher for program participants than for non-participants.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The primary implication of this finding for change agents is the need to examine and understand employee expectancies for success and how they are affected by training and ongoing participation. Monitoring employee expectancy beliefs regarding the confidence, knowledge, and resources needed for successful participation allows training, facilitation, and oversight to be targeted in terms of who needs what and when.\nOriginality/value: - This study tests two common assumptions underlying the success of TQM.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Impact of Centor scores on determining antibiotic prescribing in children
|
[
"PDSA",
"Quality improvement",
"Quality audit"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Sore throat is a common acute disease in childhood, and is usually self-limiting (Le Marechal et al., 2013). In children, 60-70 per cent of sore throats are of viral aetiology, and the remaining 30-40 per cent are predominantly bacterial, with group A b haemolytic streptococcus (GAbHS) the most common causative bacterial agent (Cohen et al., 2015). International comparisons demonstrate a correlation between antibiotic resistance and primary care antibiotic prescribing, and rates of antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections in the UK are some of the highest in Northern Europe (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2008).\nMethods: Setting\nResults: Demographics\nDiscussion: Summary of main findings\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish the effect of incorporating Centor scoring into antibiotic prescribing in primary care in London, UK, before and after the introduction of an educational package and prescribing software tool.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A quality improvement project with analysis of all sore throat presentations in patients aged 3-14 years, in two phases. Phase 1 (retrospective): 1 January-31 December 2013, followed by an intervention (software tool/education package) and Phase 2 (prospective): 1 March 2014-28 February 2015.\nFindings: In the initial analysis, 162 out of 202 (80.2 per cent) patients were prescribed antibiotics. Following the educational/software intervention, 191 out of 231 (82.7 per cent) patients were prescribed antibiotics (p=0.56, kh2 test). The mean Centor score decreased significantly following the education/software intervention (3.1 vs 2.7, p<0.001, kh2 test). In all, 100 per cent of patients with tonsillar exudate were prescribed antibiotics in both phases. The apparent order of importance for predictive signs/symptoms given by the prescribers in both phases of the study was tonsillar exudate>lymphadenopathy>fever>absence of cough.\nOriginality/value: This is the first time a differential importance given by practitioners on individual Centor criteria has been described. With a low probability of bacterial infection, children with exudate or anterior lymphadenopathy almost always received antibiotics. This is interesting, since studies have previously found that the presence of tonsillar exudate had no significant association with culture-confirmed streptococcal tonsillitis.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
State reform in Greece: responding to old and new challenges
|
[
"Public administration",
"Public sector reform",
"Greece"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: questioning the question: Addressing the fate of the Napoleonic state after the reforms of the last decades calls for a number of clarifications at the outset. First, such a question needs to be answered at a macro-level, given the corresponding character of such a typology (see Peters, 2008). Undeniably change has occurred, not only as a corollary of a philosophical position, according to which \"everything flows\" (Heraclites), but also because public administration as a socio-technical system and a living institution has necessarily adjusted to the undisputable changes of its wider social and economic environment.Second, what seems rather to be at stake is the direction of change. A number of reforms undertaken in most western countries during the 1980s and 1990s were put under the umbrella term of new public management (NPM). The diversity of reforms allows room for discussion on the content of NPM. Various authors may emphasise different aspects[1]. NPM may also be seen as replacing older administrative and more generally public sector organisational models, as a new \"paradigm\" transforming the public sector and its relation to government and society, as altering some important aspects, or even as a fashion and zeitgeist (see Hood, 1991; Wright, 1994; Lane, 2000). Whatever the ambition of this new model, the central idea behind it is a different perception of the role of state in the economy and society, and of how government should run the public sector. Thus reducing government functions affects the boundaries of the public sector (privatisation and marketisation) and reconsiders the bureaucratic form of government organisation (breaking or down-sizing bureaucracies, private management tools). Alternative ideas are sought in the way the private sector operates. They often refer to competition and quasi-market conditions, flexibility in personnel and financial management, client-centred and output-oriented management, entrepreneurial culture etc. ...). The contradictions of NPM reforms have been widely discussed (see for example, Wright, 1994; Aucoin, 1990; Rockman and Honey, 1997; Peters, 1995; Pollitt, 1995; Lane, 1997)[2] and need not preoccupy this paper. However, it seems that NPM is implicitly considered to necessarily guide the direction of reforms. In that context certain states are seen as \"laggards\".Thus the question of the degree of change boils down to its conformity to NPM as a dominant tendency in the past 20 years. States in the Napoleonic tradition are seen as slow in moving in this direction, as more difficult to reform, or, more precisely, as resisting NPM inspired reforms. This preconception is summed up as their \"reform capacity\" considered to be low. But, is there no reform beyond the NPM paradigm? Is there an absolute necessity to follow it? This approach seems superficial, among others because it assumes that reform needs of various states are similar, that there is only one possible way to treat them and that any divergence equals incapacity and therefore failure.Last, the question of \"Napoleonic states' reform\" becomes ever more important when taking into consideration that there is no unique Napoleonic state model. With the exception of a number of formal features, many variations exist in reality, having their origin in the dynamics of the socio-political environment of national administrations. In such a context reform capacity may refer to possibly differing views on the appropriateness of certain reforms.The question what has remained or what has faded away of the Napoleonic administrative tradition is therefore more complex than it may appear at first sight. Even a tentative answer would require explaining the particularities of states within this \"tradition\" before examining similarities and their fate. This endeavour is clearly difficult to undertake in the short framework of an article. Hence, the answer will be limited to an eclectic overview of changes introduced during the past 25 years, allowing a reflection on the trajectory (\"what\" and \"how\", according to Pollitt and Bouckaert, 2000, 62 ff) of state reform in Greece.The paper starts with a brief account of important aspects of the Greek variant of Napoleonic state and the context of recent reforms. Borrowing from the analysis of Pollitt and Bouckaert (2000), trajectories, features and limits of reforms are discussed next, focusing on four selected areas that are important to the Napoleonic tradition as much as to NPM trends and to reform efforts in the Greek context. These include: public sector reform, structural and functional decentralisation, human resources and labour relations in the public sector, and citizen-administration relations. Last, a tentative assessment is attempted in order to answer the central question of the paper.\n2. The context of reforms: 2.1 Napoleonic features: past and present\n3. Trajectories of reform: Statism, centralised bureaucratic structures, personnel policies and labour relations in the public sector and citizens-administration relations are major reform areas to be examined in order to assess change. These reforms address important aspects of the Napoleonic tradition but also figure among priority areas for NPM reforms.3.1 Public sector reform\n4. Tentative assessment and theoretical issues: Has the overall picture of the Greek state changed as a result of these reforms? The answer is mitigated. In certain areas change has been much larger than one could have imagined in the late 1980s. This mainly concerns public sector reform and the role of the state in the economy. Market liberalisation has advanced and very few state monopolies remain, market regulation has been assigned to independent bodies and the partly privatised public corporations are under pressure to modernise. Similarly, in terms of centralisation, much has changed, mainly with the institution of second tier local government, but the reform is for the moment more important politically than administratively. The creation of independent authorities has a particular significance in the Greek context, given the tendency of central government to subject to its political influence all administrative institutions. Various agencies were setup to advance reform in specific policy areas but this did not particularly affect central bureaucracy. They often bypassed existing structures in a \"live and let live\" approach. Coordination, which has never been the strong point of the Greek political-administrative system, is becoming an issue after these changes.In terms of the civil service and public employment real change has been clearly limited. Politics are still too present in routine administration and personnel management, with recruitment being the most visible part. Flexibility has not increased because of systemic weaknesses and corporatist reactions by labour unions. Change is certainly felt in the area of citizen-administration relations, with the legal formulation of procedural rights and the emergence of independent authorities in view of safeguarding them. Though this is clearly an improvement, there is no \"overturning\" of the situation. The citizen remains an \"administre\". Red tape, legalism, rigidity and lack of citizen-oriented service are still there, as well as citizen mistrust towards public services.Unlike other countries (for France, see Rouban, 2008), the budget system has not been at the centre of modernisation reforms. It is primarily input based and lacks both a program structure and performance orientation (IMF, 2006, p. 31). External audit is carried out by the Court of Accounts that is dominated by a legal focus rather on efficiency or effectiveness of expenditures (IMF, 2006, pp. 40-1). The programme structure has mostly been used for EU funded programmes (e.g. in the context of community support frameworks) but has only in a limited way permeated other areas of financial management. Output and performance oriented management is not yet in place.In sum, reforms did not imply a significant departure from the Napoleonic model in its Greek variant. Though subject to the same economic and international pressure for reforms, Greece has \"instinctively\" followed its own trajectory. There was no comprehensive reform vision or a deeper analysis of the appropriate means and direction to reform. Like in France, no general doctrine can be detected behind them (see Rouban, 2008). Indeed, \"global economic forces [...] do not determine the precise form or timing or degree of reform\" (Pollitt and Bouckaert, 2000, pp. 28-9) and do not translate directly into some particular type of reform.How clear were the reform objectives? It seems that the reform process was based on a \"trial and error\" approach, was incremental and path dependent. Implementation has often been deficient. Beyond measurable economic and financial targets linked to the Maastricht criteria, there was no clear monitoring of the direction of the reforms. With the exception of public sector reform that was undertaken under strong European and international pressure, the continuity of reform efforts was sometimes interrupted not only because of change of the party in government but also in case of a cabinet reshuffling and the subsequent change of minister and because of corporatist and clientelistic interests or short-term electoral objectives. The part of politics and parties in the failure or delay of necessary administrative reforms is widely acknowledged in Greece (Papoulias and Tsoukas, 1998; Pelagidis, 2005; Spanou, 1996a; Sotiropoulos, 1996). Greece is a case where administrative reform has been gradual, not always clear in its objectives or even contradictory, and faced resistance.In such a context, it is not surprising that there are important implementation gaps and a frequent divergence between discourse and action. Though this is not a Greek phenomenon only (Bardach, 1977; see also Ongaro, 2008), it seems more pronounced. In broader terms, reforms have been top-down, expressing political voluntarism and the central role of the state in Greek society and have taken the \"limited\" form of passing laws. Legalism and formalism remained dominant while little attention was paid to implementation and the necessary conditions for it. Even when they involved the state's withdrawal from certain policy areas and responsibilities in favour of the private or the third sector, they have exhibited a rather low possibility to integrate local and societal actors.Nevertheless this is not to downplay the cumulative effect of change that the Greek political-administrative system underwent in the past 25 years. Its systemic weaknesses and the way it historically relates to its wider social and economic environment constitute important limits shaping the content of the reforms undertaken. In some ways, Greece is a latecomer to NPM (if at all) but this has to do with the neo-liberal turn of its current conservative government - i.e. only since 2004. The bulk of the reforms undertaken under the (previous) (socialist) governments show however that a lot has taken place, without necessarily being accompanied by the usual ideological rhetoric of NPM and neo-liberalism.Does the above qualify Greece as \"the odd one out\"? Rather not. In many areas, Greece has followed - even hesitantly - \"l'air du temps\", mainly where outside pressure was stronger. As it often happens, the apparent convergence may be only superficial (Pollitt et al., 2006, p. 287). In other areas it has struggled against its long-standing administrative weaknesses, that were not dealt with at earlier stages, even if the methods used were not \"fashionable\" any more. Strengthening democratic institutions in view of protecting citizen's rights and breaking with its highly centralised heritage should not be underestimated. In that, Greece is also a latecomer. In other respects administrative modernisation remains closer to strengthening a Weberian type administration and closing the gap between formal rules and structures and informal practices model (Spanou, 1995). In other words, NPM methods were often inappropriate for the Greek case. At the same time, in certain areas a chance was missed to reverse long-standing deficiencies (planning and setting of clear policy objectives, measurement and evaluation of results, more flexible and performance oriented management processes etc.). Even when corresponding legal provisions were introduced (e.g. regulatory reform, management by objectives, performance measurement), they were never actually put in operation.All this points to a \"distinctive reform path\" in Greece. This is defined by the apparently contradictory rationale of a number of reforms that have taken two opposite directions. On one hand certain reforms have attempted to strengthen central control (personnel recruitment, inspection and control bodies etc.) and to increase bureaucratic accountability (citizen's rights, independent authorities, improvement of service to citizens); on the other hand, other reforms have tried to loosen central state control on local government, the economy, the unions etc. following current ideas on the role of the state (second tier local government, collective bargaining, privatisations etc.). The first type of reforms offered remedies to old challenges of the Greek state tradition, political patronage and its repercussions on the political administrative system. They exhibit a domestic dynamic and may be qualified as long-awaited-for interventions. The second type aimed at \"updating\" the administrative model in terms of organisational features and context requirements. They are mostly located in areas where pressure from the international economic environment and mainly the EU (competition, size of public sector) has been stronger.Though it certainly provides the general framework, the Napoleonic tradition has not been the most important factor affecting the content and limits of public management reforms in Greece. It is rather the country specific socio-political dynamics that explain the balance between external pressure and domestic priorities. The diversity of trajectories within the same Napoleonic tradition testifies to that.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper attempts to assess the impact of reforms of the last 25 years on Greek administration and more specifically on its Napoleonic features. Given that those have been reshaped by country specific socio-political dynamics, the analysis starts by pointing out the Napoleonic features but also specific features its Greek variant. These form the context of reforms undertaken and determine their trajectories as well as their limitations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper examines four basic reform areas linked to important features of Napoleonic states: centrality of the state, centralised bureaucratic structures, labour relations in the public sector, and citizens-administration relations. The rationale of reforms is discussed in relation to NPM trends but also to domestic challenges and priorities.\nFindings: - The significance of reforms undertaken varies. The state's presence in the economy has been significantly reduced and decentralisation reforms are more important politically than administratively. Citizens' rights and service delivery have been conceived rather as forms of democratisation and modernisation than as managerial reforms. Only recently labour relations in the public sector have been partly challenged while other reform aspects such as \"agencification\", systematically by-passing existing bureaucratic structures start to be part of the picture. Change has been incremental and followed pre-established paths. The \"Napoleonic\" features of the state have not been seriously affected and reforms have hardly been reshaped by the new managerial paradigm. While the state remains the main reform actor and the law a typical policy instrument, a distinctive reform path emerges in Greece, as defined by the apparently contradictory rationale of a number of initiatives responding to old as much to new challenges.\nOriginality/value: - Provides a brief account of important aspects of the Greek variant of the Napoleonic state and the context of recent reforms. Features and limits of reforms are also discussed. Finally, a tentative assessment answers the central question of the paper.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
An analysis of ebrary Academic Complete at Adelphi University
|
[
"Collection development",
"United States of America",
"Information management",
"Electronic books",
"Ebrary"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: E-book packages are becoming an integral part of collection development for academic libraries. There are many types of packages with their own platforms, downloadable options, and digital resource management restrictions. ebrary, which is owned by Proquest, is an e-book platform that has a tiered purchasing model by which they market e-books to academic libraries. Academic Complete is considered to be the foundation of their structure, which then may be supplemented by patron-driven acquisitions, and single-title purchases. The Academic Complete package cannot be owned, but may only be leased for a yearly fee. The titles in this package change on a regular basis, and this requires ongoing digital content management which is comparable to the ongoing management of e-journals in full-text databases.\nAbout Adelphi: Adelphi University's main campus is located in Garden City, New York and has a student body of 8,000 individual students or 6,600 full-time equivalent (FTE) students. The University has a College of Arts and Sciences and professional schools in Business, Education, Nursing, Social Work, and the Derner Institute for Advanced Studies in Psychology. There are centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Hauppauge at which courses for the professional schools are taught. Swirbul Library at the Garden City campus is the main library with smaller libraries at each of the centers, which support bibliographic instruction and collections pertinent to the courses taught at those centers. While Adelphi has made the move to providing e-journals online, there has recently been a push to purchase and subscribe to e-books in order to increase access for all students, especially for commuter students and students at the various centers.\nLiterature review: The concept of subscription to an e-book package is reminiscent of full-text database subscriptions and \"big deal\" e-journal packages. Ebrary Academic Complete operates both as a database of monographs and as a set of 87,000 individual monographs with ebrary-provided MARC records that may be discovered through the library's webpac. Even in cases where individual e-books or e-book packages are purchased, often a hosting or platform fee must be paid in order to retain access (Armstrong et al., 2009). In this sense, e-books are becoming more like continuing resource orders and less like firm monograph orders. Libraries have to change their book buying budgets to accommodate ongoing subscriptions and hosting and maintenance fees (Armstrong et al., 2009).\nBasic usage analysis: When Adelphi first subscribed to Academic Complete in March of 2011, the cost for a subscription for an institution of 6,600 FTE was $20,719.00. In 2012, the figure rose to $22,377 and with the most recent renewal in 2013, the institution paid $24,167.00. While the price of Academic Complete is rising faster than inflation, so many more titles have been added that Adelphi has determined that the additional content warrants these increases. The package was promoted through bibliographic instruction classes as a means for students to access books from home or if all the books on a particular subject were checked-out. Also, a link to the ebrary database is included on the library home page and the MARC records were loaded into the webpac, so that patrons could search ebrary as a stand-alone database or discover the materials through a traditional webpac search.\nSubject analysis: One major aspect in determining whether or not the package is financially and academically valuable is to look at the number of students in various departments and professional schools and examine whether or not the library is providing access to necessary subjects.\nDuplication rate: When leasing a backfile of e-books, it is also necessary to examine whether the titles being used are already duplicated in the libraries' print collection. In the sample of ebrary titles utilized by patrons in 2011/12, the Adelphi Libraries currently hold in print 123 out of the 586 titles, for a duplication rate of 21.5 percent. The total list price of books in the sample in 2011/12 was $38,926.74 with the list price of the duplicated titles at $7,022.97 or 18 percent of the total list price that overlapped with the print collection.\nInformation management: When the decision was made to subscribe to this package, it was known that the books available would not be static. Therefore, it was decided that if perpetual access was needed to a book, access via ebrary would not preclude a one-time purchase. When this product was purchased, it was not clear just how transient the materials were. During a 12-month period from September 2012 and August 2013, 2,831 books were removed and 11,667 titles were added to the package. While more titles are being added to the package than removed, this is an additional process that has to be added to the agenda for systems librarians every month.\nConclusion: While there is not a static title list, much more quality content is being added in comparison to the number of titles that are being removed. It was expected that there would be some overlap with the print collection, since Academic Complete is a backlist, but the duplication rate is not so severe that it causes concern. Even if print books and access to e-books overlap, an additional access point is being added, which might be of use to patrons, who need greater access to materials from home. The Schools of Social Work and Nursing seem to benefit the most from the package and they comprise a significant proportion of Adelphi's graduate and undergraduate enrollment. Despite its limitations, the ebrary Academic Complete package is a resource that the Adelphi Libraries find to be a good value for both patrons and the university.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine the academic and financial value of ebrary Academic Complete package to the Adelphi University Libraries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: ebrary provided statistics and this sample was used to analyze subject usage and overlap with the print collection.\nFindings: It was found that although there was overlap with the print collection, the usage statistics are high enough to warrant continued subscription.\nOriginality/value: This paper case study of Adelphi's issues regarding subscribing to a backfile of e-books including subject usage, print overlap, and information management.\n",
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] |
Experiences that develop leadership capabilities
|
[
"Leadership development",
"Experiential learning",
"Leadership capabilities",
"Mature managers"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The development of leadership capabilities in managers and professionals is a key area of interest and concern for organisations. Practices to facilitate leadership development in organisations include formal training and development programmes, coaching and mentoring, and supported job rotations and secondments. However, as Gold et al. (2010, p. 142) point out \"Managers often talk about informal and unplanned experiences as 'explicit, powerful, relevant and realistic', and as the main source of their development\". Reviewing the nature of leadership development, Day and Thornton (2018, p. 368) note: \"Although leader/ship development programs are popular with organizations, when you ask successful senior executives about how they developed as leaders, they tend to claim it was through on-the-job experience\". Morgan McCall (2004), long associated with leadership development through experiential learning, argues: \"The role played by training and other formal programs is relatively modest in comparison to other kinds of experiences\" (p. 127).\nTheoretical background: There is recognition that experience plays a greater role than formal training programmes in helping individuals in developing leadership skills (Yukl, 2013). The developmental value of experience is recognised across a range of empirical studies and different theoretical perspectives on learning and development (DeRue and Wellman, 2009; Waller et al., 2017).\nMethodology: Based on a review of literature, a survey was constructed listing a number of experiences that might be important for developing individuals as leaders, including activities such as taking on a new job, handling significant challenges, having a coach or mentor, seeing role models, and supervising staff. Respondents were also able to answer \"other\" and provide information on an experience that was not listed. Respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they thought that each of these had impacted on their development as a leader in the previous five years, on a scale of 1-5, where 5 indicated \"a great deal\" and 1 indicated \"not at all\"; they could alternatively indicate that factors did not apply to them (e.g. that they had not experienced taking on a new job, or had not been coached or mentored). As well as rating each type of experience, respondents were also asked to indicate which item was the most important in developing their leadership capabilities, and to explain why.\nFindings: The majority of respondents (78 per cent) were 45 years of age or older; 67 per cent were employed in the private sector; 69 per cent were male and 31 per cent female. Asked about their position in their organisation, 25 per cent described themselves as an owner/principal; 11 per cent described themselves as a chief executive; 37 per cent said they were a senior manager other than a chief executive, and 17 per cent said they were a middle manager.\nDiscussion: Literature on the development of leadership capabilities has noted the importance of workplace experience in provoking and supporting individuals to develop their skills (Day et al., 2014; Gold et al., 2010; McCall, 2004). DeRue and Wellman (2009) have argued that challenging experiences require managers to try new behaviours, and to reframe old ways of thinking and acting. This research confirms and extends this understanding of the role of experience in leadership development.\nConclusion: This research identifies a number of experiences - other than undertaking training and development programmes - that mature managers and professionals regard as important for their development as leaders. These are recent events, experienced within the last five years. Mature respondents to the survey said that they believed they had developed their capabilities as leaders in the previous five years, and indicated the kinds of experiences that had helped them to do so. The experiences that were most highly rated involved facing challenges, contributing to major decisions, and taking on new responsibilities. However, other experiences that were judged to have a positive impact on development included learning from others - such as clients, competitors, and people from other organisations - and acting as a coach/mentor to others.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to answer the research question: what recent experiences - other than undertaking training and development programmes - do mature managers and professionals regard as important for their development as leaders?\nDesign/methodology/approach: A survey was issued to mature managers and professionals, asking them to rate the contribution of certain experiences to their recent development of leadership capabilities, and to provide qualitative data on the most important experiences.\nFindings: The experience that was rated most highly in developing leadership capabilities was \"tackling a significant challenge or challenges\", followed by \"taking, or contributing to, major decisions\", and then by \"taking on new responsibilities\". Controlled interventions such as coaching/mentoring, appraisal feedback, and temporary new responsibilities were awarded relatively low ratings.\nResearch limitations/implications: The sample was drawn from graduates of an executive master's degree, who are likely to have positive attitudes to self-development and to learning from experience.\nPractical implications: The findings can be used to help mature leaders, and those who facilitate leadership development, to identify and use experiences that may develop leadership capabilities.\nOriginality/value: There are few recent studies on the kinds of experiences that are perceived to develop leadership capabilities of mature managers and professionals.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
On leaving the nunnery: management in trade unions
|
[
"Trade unions",
"General management",
"Management activities",
"Operations management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In most relevant literature, those employed at a senior level in trade unions are described as \"leaders\", and at other levels as \"officers\" or \"full-time officers\".\"Managers\" are largely absent from the language of trade unions and trade union studies. As Terry (2000, p. 5) says:It is an oddity that, despite numerous studies of union governance over many decades, little attention has been paid to the processes of union management. [...] If any inference could be drawn from much academic analysis, it is that the work of [managers] should flow unambiguously from policy set through approved democratic mechanisms (good) but that in practice they are more likely to be dancing to the tune of the general secretary (bad). Both comments are rooted in such naive and simplified views of the government and management of complex organisations as to be laughable if they were transferred to other organisational contexts.This was reflected in practical experience into the 1990s and beyond. One union manager, having worked with academics at Cranfield School of Management in 2000 to produce a strategic marketing plan for her union, was summarily disabused, by her General Secretary and Executive, of the idea that such managerialist notions had any place in a trade union environment. Even one of the latest studies (Burchielli, 2008, p. 58) remarks that while the role and workload of organisers (in unions in Australia) has changed, \"'administrative' roles have been largely ignored\".Unions are complex businesses. In the UK, one case study union, for example, has a turnover of well over PS110m sterling. Clark and Gray (1991) say (rather patronisingly) that the background, experience and personal characteristics of those in high office in trade unions tend to clash with the business-like characteristics needed to administer a large organisation. If true, much members' money must be dissipated in inefficiency and many union staff must fail to fulfil their potential; consequently, service to the membership must be well below optimal levels.One could develop an argument exactly contrary to that of Clark and Gray (1991). Trade unionists have spent their careers in the people business. They have sought to ensure that members can achieve their potential at work, free of the constraints and indignities of bad management. Therefore, when they achieve high office and are responsible for managing people, they are likely to understand the importance of concerned people management. They certainly will know what not to do.This paper examines management in trade unions through the results of a research programme in four major UK trade unions. It explores what literature there is in this area, outlines the research and presents findings about the role of management in trade unions and examines trade union managers themselves before drawing conclusions.Many unions have experienced some form of \"crisis\" such as membership loss or declining effectiveness. (Rigby et al., 2004; Frege and Kelly, 2003; Waddington, 2001). One response has been increased merger activity (Waddington, 2001, p. 453). All our case study unions have been formed through merger, and the significance of that will be discussed. However, our view is that effective management is one response to crises or pressures and that the trade union managers who have been our research subjects demonstrate a more generalisable significance.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Traditional assumptions\n3. The case studies: To explore these issues, research was conducted in four major trade unions in the UK, all formed by merger. Using a case study approach enabled us to examine managerial activities within individual unions, taking rich and detailed account of the contexts. This also provided an opportunity for cross case analysis. Miles and Huberman (1994, p. 172) suggest that one aim of studying multiple cases is \"to increase generalisability, reassuring yourself that the events and processes in one well-described setting are not wholly idiosyncratic\". Yin (1994, p. 13) suggests that one reason for choosing a case study is \"because you deliberately wanted to cover contextual conditions\", believing that they might be pertinent to research design. This is a characteristic of realist inquiry, as noted by Tsoukas (1989), who suggests that such studies have utilised, though not exclusively, the case study form.A merger is frequently a life-changing change experience for employees. In outlining employee trauma identified in their research, Buono and Bowditch (1989, p. 3) comment that \"while much of this human turmoil may be inevitable [...] the difficulties involved in such large-scale organisational changes are frequently intensified by questionable management decisions and actions'. The choice, therefore, of organisations formed by merger enabled us to study trade union management in highly pressurised management of change scenarios. We believed that this would reveal many aspects of the management of people and resources - and the exercise of responsibility and accountability - in a spotlight that it would be more difficult to switch on in a less critical environment.Union A is a union whose members work for two major employers, one private and one public sector. It is primarily blue collar but with technical and clerical members. At the time of the research, it had been merged for five years but head offices were not merged till three years later. Union B is a predominantly public sector union, affected like everyone in the public sector by outsourcing and privatisation. Its members are white and blue collar. At the time of the research, it had been merged for less than two years. Union C is a wholly private sector, white-collar union, comparatively recently merged when the research took place. Union D, whilst predominantly public sector, has a significant private sector membership because of the effects of privatisation. It had been merged for nine years when the research took place, although merger management continued in many ways.In total, 56 senior officials were interviewed in these unions, 14 in each. In each case, the General Secretary was interviewed (in some cases previous or joint General Secretaries as well). The remainder of the interviewees comprised a randomly chosen group of managers at senior levels in those unions, regional and national. In three cases these managers were all at senior management team level, heads of departments or regional secretaries. The exception was Union A, where interviewees were chosen largely (but not exclusively) by a senior manager and where the level of management stretched further down the hierarchy than in the other unions, though all were functional or (in one case) project heads.The aim was to establish whether those officials were managers and whether they accepted that role, what their approach was to people management, and how trade union managers were developed. No particular model of management was proposed to any of the interviewees. Self-definition of the term was universal, and the extent to which this incorporated the notions of responsibility and accountability is noted. Semi-structured interviews typically lasted well over an hour and were tape-recorded and transcribed. Questioning therefore covered four broad areas:1. managerial roles and factors influencing them;2. the extent to which management remained a problematic concept and the reasons for that;3. the influence of \"trade union principles\" and how they were defined; and4. boundaries between the roles of managers and lay members.The project was anchored within a realist ontology, involving mechanisms providing \"an account of the makeup, behaviour and interrelationships of those processes which are responsible for the regularity\" (Pawson and Tilley, 1997, p. 68). Partington (2000) says that the researcher's role is to speculate on what plausible, understandable cognitive mechanisms are intervening between stimulus and action. Analysis in this case followed a modified but consistent version of Partington's procedures in which first stage analyses were prepared and input into the NVivo software package for analysing qualitative data. Overviews were the prepared which endeavoured to tell the \"story\" arising from the data, followed by the classification of the data into a revised, parsimonious coding structure in NVivo. These codes reflected the main features of the \"story\" and reflected mechanisms leading to management action.Hales's (1999) framework, as illustrated in Figure 1, was used as a basis for organising the data to produce models of management in each of the four unions researched.\n4. Findings: We use the \"high-level\" headings of the Hales (1999) analysis to structure our findings.4.1 Managing as responsibility for bounded areas of work activity\n5. Conclusions: Management is largely absent from the discourse of trade unionism, especially academic discourse. Our evidence, however, shows that at least in four major unions in the UK which have been created by merger, management is very much part of the praxis of unionism.Our argument is that these individuals accept responsibility for their roles as managers and, accountable to the members, are performing managerial tasks to improve the way unions work and how they achieve their goals. Hales's (1999) framework was used to endeavour to understand the moral and cognitive influences impacting on the way trade union managers went about their work. Moral rules included trade union principles, principally those of \"fairness\" and the commitment of managers to the democratic process. We argue that the notion of \"fairness\" has an impact on the fact that trade union managers espouse a people-centred approach to management, while at the same time cultural factors may result in organisational ambivalence to the concept and problematic approaches to managing conduct or performance.In all four unions there is evidence of managers' commitment to democratic processes and achieving the goals of the members. In Union A this may arise from the extensive and embedded nature of its democratic processes. In Union B some structures designed to assess members' and activists' views may be controversial. But enthusiasm for the principles of union democracy are not hard to find, both there and in Union C where a role was identified of facilitating the democratic process. In Union D, the commitment seems to be to partnership with lay members. The evidence suggests that espousal of the value of achieving union members' goals is key.Of course, this evidence is gained from trade union managers themselves. The limitations of this are accepted and it is clear that further research is required to examine the role of managers within the dynamics of union democracy and the nature of contested spaces within union structures. Nevertheless, the evidence here is powerful enough to suggest that the onset of trade union management, and the identification of trade union managers, is likely to affect the dynamics of that relationship and therefore the unlikelihood of their being the same as those identified in much of the literature.In the British trade union movement generally, the TUC recognised a dozen years ago the importance of good management by organising strategic management courses for senior union figures. Since then, as we have reported, our case study unions have recognised the importance of management development. It seems clear that the leaders of organisations faced with crises in membership, finance and structures, have determined to focus on the management process.It is no surprise, therefore, to find that management is now embedded in the discourse of many practical trade union leaders. It is time for the academic analyses to catch up.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explore trade union management, using data from four major unions. Managers and management have generally been absent from trade union discourse but unions are substantial organisations that need good management. The paper seeks to understand the extent to which senior trade union officials accept managerial roles and to discuss the significance of this.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper draws on 56 interviews with senior trade union managers using a case study approach.\nFindings: - The paper concludes that management is consciously understood and implemented by trade union leaders who take their managerial roles and achieving the goals of the members seriously. It suggests that this is likely to affect the dynamics of the relationships between the various actors in trade union democracy.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Evidence is gained from trade union managers themselves. Further research needs to focus both on the managed and on the lay members to whom managers are accountable.\nOriginality/value: - This paper begins to fill a lacuna in the literature examining the way unions operate by concentrating on managers and management rather than on administration.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Islamic calendar and stock market behaviour in India
|
[
"Ramadan effect",
"Islamic calendar",
"Nifty Shariah",
"Shariah index",
"G10",
"G12",
"C22"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The Islamic calendar consists of 12 months, but only a total of either 354 or 355 days in a year. Each month in an Islamic calendar has 29 or 30 days. The beginning and end of the Islamic calendar month are determined by the sighting of the crescent moon known as Hilal (Halari et al. 2015). The different Islamic months may be important because of the emotion of the individual differ from the other months. For example, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar is known as the religious month of the Muslim. Religion is a central force in the lives of people. It affects their preferences, decision-making, and mood. The mood and emotions play an important role in investor behavior. Wright and Bower (1992) state that a positive mood state can make investors more optimistic and willing to undertake riskier investment decisions. Similarly, Ramadan is the most precious month of the Islamic calendar (Hijri) and it is obligatory for the Muslims to fast in the month of Ramadan. It is the ninth month of the Muslim Hijri calendar during which Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohamad, observed by both Sunni and Shia Muslims. Therefore, it is an important month in the Islamic calendar and culture. Each day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world observes the sacred month of fasting during daylight hours (from dawn to sunset), performing nightly prayers in addition to the daily obligatory prayers, and concluding each day's fast over food with family and friends. At the end of the month of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr is celebrated and prepares individuals to return to their regular daily routine. In this context, Gavriilidis et al. (2016) suggest that the Ramadan creates a positive mood and social interaction among Muslims. Further, Al-Hajieh et al. (2011), Bialkowski et al. (2012), Gavriilidis et al. (2016) and Al-Ississ (2015) documented that the stock returns are significantly higher during the Ramadan days than non-Ramadan days.\n2. Literature review: The efficient market hypothesis state that the expected returns on assets should be evenly distributed across the days, weeks, months, years or any other unit of time. But the empirical studies on the behavior of stock returns have disclosed certain anomalies where variances in asset returns are found to be associated with the unit of time. Earlier studies have found the existence of the day of the week effect not only in the USA and other developed markets but also in the emerging markets like India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Turkey. It shows that the behavior of the stock markets is not constant. It always reacts to available information in the markets. The information flow in the markets modifies the investors buying and selling behavior. Some studies documented that the festive, faith and emotion affect the stock market behavior. In this line, Seyyed et al. (2005) examine the Ramadan effect on the stock returns and volatility in the Saudi Arabian stock market. The data set of the study consists of weekly index values of the overall market and the six major sectors such as banking, industry, cement, electricity, agriculture, and services from February 1985 to April 2000. Using a GARCH specification, the study finds that the average rates of returns are unaffected during the month of Ramadan, whereas there is a significant decline in volatility. This pattern is perceived by the overall market as well as for the major six sectors in the Saudi Arabian stock market.\n3. Data and methodology: The study considers the daily closing values of the Sensex, Nifty, Nifty Shariah, Nifty Shariah 500 and Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) indices from January 2010 to March 2016. Taylor (1986, pp. 54) states that at least four years daily data is enough to capture the important features of financial data, but the study uses the six years daily data. The data are obtained from the BSE and NSE. The closing values of the MSCI are collected from the yahoo finance website. The T-bills rates are extracted from the Reserve Bank of India website. The daily data of the indices are transformed in accordance with the Islamic calendar which starts from Muharram. The 12 months of the Islamic calendar derived from the lunar cycle are separated by the appearance of the new moon. The number of days in a month average between 29 and 30 days, making the Islamic year, approximately 11 days shorter than the Gregorian one (Bialkowski et al., 2012). In order to obtain the robust results, the study considers the daily data after the global financial crisis. The daily closing values of each sample index are converted into the returns (Rt) calculated as the first differences in the natural logarithms:(1)\n4. Empirical results and discussion: First, the study computes the descriptive statistics of the stock market returns before and after the Ramadan period to examine the variation of the behavior in the market. Table I presents the mean, median, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis for each series. Over the period as a whole, the Nifty Shariah 500 index provides higher returns of 0.043 percent. The stocks in the Nifty Shariah 500 index have screened from the Nifty 500 index. After the screening, the 242 stocks are constituted in the Nifty Shariah 500 index (Source: NSE Nifty Shariah 500 fact sheets). The standard deviation of the Nifty Shariah and Nifty Shariah 500 is the 0.812 and 0.753 percent respectively. It shows that the Shariah indices have less volatility than the common indices in the markets. The high-performance stocks are constituted in the Shariah index. Therefore, the Shariah indices provide higher returns to the investors.\n5. Summary and conclusion: Shariah investment has been growing rapidly at the rate 10-15 percent per annum globally. Muslim and non-Muslim countries have introduced the concepts of Shariah index and Shariah shares in the stock markets for the benefit of the ethical investors. Ethical investors mean that one who buys and sells the shares in line with the Shariah investment principles. Due to the rapid growth of ethical investment, there is a need to examine the Islamic calendar effect on the returns and volatility of the common and Shariah indices. The present study investigates the Islamic calendar effect on the returns of the Shariah and common indices in India. The data include the daily values of the BSE Sensex, Nifty 50, Nifty Shariah, Nifty Shariah 500 and MSCI over the period from January 4, 2010, to March 31, 2016. First, the study investigates the day-of-the-week and month-of-the-year effect on the returns of Shariah index and common index using OLS. The results find that the average returns of the stock markets are higher in Wednesday than other days of the week (Turk Ariss et al., 2011). Further, the average return is higher during the Ramadan days than non-Ramadan days over the study period. Next, the study converts the Georgian calendar into the Islamic calendar and examines the month-of-the-year effect as per the Islamic calendar. The results show that the insignificant positive returns are present in the month of Muharram, Rabi-Al-Thani, Jumada-Al-Thani, Rajab and Shawwal, while insignificant negative returns are present in the month of Jumada-Al-Awwal. The study finds an evidence of the highest and significant mean returns of Shariah indices in the month of Rabi-Al-Awwal and Ramadan. The result is consistent with the findings of Al-Ississ (2015), Al-Hajieh et al. (2011) and Halari et al. (2015). Further, the highest and statistically significant returns of the common indices are observed in the month of Rabi-Al-Awwal. The average return of the Ramadan is positive, but insignificant for the common indices in India. The results consistent with the findings of Bialkowski et al. (2012) who documents that Ramadan does not affect the returns of the common indices in the non-Muslim country. To diagnose the results, the study estimates the risk-adjusted performance measurement and finds that the Islamic indices outperform during the Ramadan period. Further, the researcher examines the impact of Ramadan on the returns of Shariah indices and finds that the Ramadan positively influences the stock market returns in the emerging markets. Also, the results reveal that the return in the month of Ramadan as a whole is statistically significant. The result is consistent with the results of the Bialkowski et al. (2012) and Al-Ississ (2015) who find that the returns are statistically significant in the month of Ramadan. Finally, the study estimates the GARCH (1,1) and GJR-GARCH (1,1) models to examine the impact of Ramadan on the volatility of Shariah indices. The result reveals that the Ramadan affects the volatility of the indices, but volatility is very less. Therefore, the study supports that the positive impact of Ramadan increases on the days associated with higher worship intensity. By concluding, the investors may get an abnormal return during the Ramadan days by investing in an ethical investment like Shariah stocks in the emerging markets.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavior of the stock market returns in the different days of the week and different months of the year in accordance with the Islamic calendar. Further, the study estimates the risk-adjusted returns to test the performance of the indices during the Ramadan and non-Ramadan days. Finally, the study investigates the impact of Ramadan on the returns and the volatility of the stock market indices in India.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Initially, the study applies the Ordinary Least Square method to test the day-of-the-week and the month-of-the-year effect of the common and Shariah indices. Next, the study employs the risk-adjusted measurement to examine the underperformance and over-performance of the indices for both the periods. Finally, the study estimates the GARCH (1,1) and GJR-GARCH (1,1) models to observe the impact of Ramadan on the returns and the volatility of the Shariah indices in India.\nFindings: The study finds that an average return of the indices during the Ramadan days are higher than non-Ramadan days. Further, the average returns of the Shariah indices are significantly higher on Wednesday than other days of the week. In addition, the highest and significant mean returns and mean risk-adjusted returns of the indices during the Ramadan days are observed. Finally, the study finds an evidence of the Ramadan effect on the returns and volatility of the indices in India.\nOriginality/value: The study observes evidence that the Ramadan effect influences the Shariah indices, but not the common indices in the stock market of the non-Muslim countries. It indicates that the Ramadan creates the positive mood and emotions in the investors buying and selling activities. The study suggests that investors can buy the shares before Ramadan period and sell them during the Ramadan days to get an abnormal return in the emerging markets.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Research synthesis in collaborative planning forecast and replenishment
|
[
"Collaboration",
"Operations management",
"Supply chain",
"Trust",
"Information communication technology"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Collaborative Planning Forecast and Replenishment (CPFR) is a cohesive bundle of business processes whereby supply chain (SC) trading partners share information, synchronized forecasts, risks, costs and benefits with the intent of improving overall SC performance through joint planning and decision making. Accordingly, CPFR enhances customer demand visibility and matches supply and demand with a synchronized flow of goods from the production and delivery of raw materials to the production and delivery of the final product to the end consumer. According to Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Standard (VICS)'s (2004) model, CPFR framework encompasses different business processes subdivided into specific steps or tasks (strategy and planning, demand and supply management, execution and analysis). From a contingency view, CPFR takes different forms, according to context (Sousa and Voss, 2008; Danese, 2011).\n2. Methodology: A six-step process was used to select and retrieve papers: computerized database selection, identification of key words for search, criteria for exclusion of studies, manual review of selected abstracts, full-text review and review of selected references from full-text articles (Thome et al., 2012).\n3. Results and discussions: The results are presented in three broad categories: study identification, literature search synthesis framework and study descriptors.\n4. Conclusion: The research synthesis in CPFR allowed the review and classification of 629 abstracts and 47 full papers. Despite the growing volume of publications in the subject, the field is still recent and evolving, with a large majority of conceptual papers, case study research and simulations that are exploratory and aiming at understanding CPFR mechanisms and impact upon SC performance. No systematic statistical inference and test of hypothesis were found but in two survey-based studies and one transactional database research, meeting with mixed evidences of CPFR effects on SC performance. The research synthesis framework evidenced the relevance of contextual variables, the on-going debate about the appropriate structure and processes of CPFR in light of contingency research and maturity models and the paucity of empirical research showing CPFR results.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this research synthesis is to gather and integrate findings on Collaborative Planning Forecast and Replenishment (CPFR) as a business process and as a management practice; and to assemble quantitative evidence of its impact on supply chain (SC) performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The researchers independently conducted a systematic review of 629 abstracts and 47 full-text papers. Original keywords were applied to four key electronic databases for operations management and information systems. Rigorous and verifiable selection criteria governed inter-coders reliability, review of steps and exclusion of papers. Resource and dependency-based view of the firm, contingency research and maturity models informed the analysis.\nFindings: There is not a single \"blueprint\" for CPFR. Competing models emphasize the need for \"trust and confidence\" and reliable data systems. The type of products, scope, spatial diversity and number of partners in the network are important contextual variables. Firm resources that are unique and advantages from multiple and reciprocal dependencies are powerful levers. There is no consensus on maturity model and on required investment in data and communication systems.\nPractical implications: Practical implications are implementation related: cost-benefit analysis and simulations should precede full-scale collaboration. There is a consensus on starting CPFR small and expanding gradually.\nOriginality/value: This synthesis applies a rigorous review method and attempts to assemble the dispersed literature in one study, utilizing explanatory operations management and information systems theories.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Learning in complex organizations as practicing and reflecting: A model development and application from a theory of practice perspective
|
[
"Learning processes",
"Learning",
"Working practices",
"Design and development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: One of the central questions in the debate surrounding adequate learning concepts is how to transfer theory knowledge into practice. Or, how can this knowledge be applied (e.g. Gruber et al., 1996)? The reverse question asks, if learning takes place in a specific context, how can this knowledge be generalized and made usable for different situations? This discussion is based on the basic scientific position of cognitive psychology, which is admittedly the leading paradigm in questions of learning and knowledge (see, e.g. Bereiter, 1985; Anderson and Reder, 1996). Representatives mainly state that knowledge is an entity allocated in the mind of individuals and therefore more or less independent from contexts (for critics see Blackler, 1995; Neuweg, 2001). This position, however, does not provide a sufficient solution for the learning and transfer problem above, which especially becomes obvious in work processes. Therefore, I consider it as being necessary to make a paradigmatic shift towards a perspective that focuses on the individual as a self-responsible person acting within a social situation. These basic assumptions are for instance recognized in social theories of learning (e.g. Engestrom, 1987; Rogoff, 1990; Lave and Wenger, 1991; Brown and Duguid, 1991, see also Chaiklin and Lave, 1993) which can be subsumed under a paradigm of \"theories of practice\" (Schulz, 2005 in press), a generic term for praxeologic, pragmatist or activity theoretic approaches (see, e.g. Bourdieu, 1990; Carpay, 1996; Hedegard and Lompscher, 1999).In this paper I will take the theory of practice perspective as a basic position in the discussion and conceptualization of workplace learning in organizations. In terms of knowledge, acting and learning, this view leads to the following assumptions:* The individual is seen as embedded in a specific social situation.* Knowledge is experience-based. There exists a difference between theoretical know-ledge and practical knowing.* Context and situation have high relevance in terms of knowing, acting, and learning. The social situation represents the context.* Knowing can be made partially explicit and decontextualized as theoretical knowledge through reflection.* Learning processes are situated; they take place within a specific context.These assumptions are mainly covered by situated learning theories such as Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Lave and Wenger, 1991). However, they leave significant questions open on how learning can be designed and realized under the limitations of practice in complex and dynamic organizations.The goal of this paper is to conceptualize workplace learning as activity within social practice. However, apart from the situated learning theories mentioned above, the aspect of reification of practical knowing beyond the actual social context shall be part of the learning concept. Hence reflection on practice plays an important role within the learning process - it bridges practical knowing and theoretical knowledge about practice. The basic concept has been realized in a learning program called the \"Process Rally\" and applied in the production area of a multinational pharmaceutical company. The model and results from an empirical study about its application will be discussed in this paper. The learning program basically comprises two levels: At the \"Process Rally\" a group of workers reflect on their work through simulating the operational process. Results on that level are changed understandings and new ideas. On the operational level, the outcomes of this simulation are discussed and realized within working groups.\nA theoretic view of knowledge and learning: In diverse sociological and psychological theories of practice (e.g. Bourdieu, 1990; Vygotsky, 1978; Fichtner, 1999), \"practice\" is considered as being complex, unpredictable and collective, and referred to a specific social system (see Chaiklin and Lave, 1993; Suchman, 2003). From that theoretic view the question arises over how learning is brought about in that social practice. However, in advance what should be clarified is what has to be learned, how it can be done and who learns in the social system workplace (see Engestrom, 2001). Therefore questions of knowledge and knowing, of practicing and reflecting will be discussed in the following.Theoretic knowledge and practical knowing - developing and reflecting\nConceptualizing workplace learning in complex organizations: In the following section, I will present the learning program the \"Process Rally\" that has been developed in cooperation with a pharmaceutical company. It has been developed and realized to educate workers and managers in the area of planning, production and quality control. The conceptualization of the program particularly recognizes the above assumptions about knowledge and learning in the context of the production area of a complex organization. However, in the following not only will I present a general model but the conceptualization of learning processes, its actors and learning contents will be discussed in detail.Framework conditions for learning and development in complex organizations\nConclusion: From the basic position of this paper, learning is seen as social practice that takes place in specific contexts. Situated learning models such as LPP provide an explaining principle for natural learning processes but they can hardly be considered as design principles of complex qualification programs in workplace learning. Additionally, they should be seen as a long-term venture, a situation that conflicts with conditions especially in industrial environments. In the case described, the main qualification problems at the workplace are not identified in the lack of ability to perform one's job, but in insufficient background knowledge on the process and in inadequate methodological knowing such as how to communicate and cooperate. Based on these aspects, the model of the Process Rally has been developed. It provides an application model for learning and reflection in practice however it has to be adapted to each specific work context. The Rally aims to develop background knowledge, tacitly in terms of theories in use, and explicitly in terms of espoused theories. This should be reached through experience within a mixed self-organizing and self-learning group. Although the Process Rally takes place at the original working places, and the participants perform the same or similar tasks as in operational practice, it is not identical to daily work. However, this type of process simulation creates a context that is close to operational reality. Therefore participants are in a position to appreciate Rally experience in relation to their own workplace.Essential in the conceptualization is the correlation between Process Rally and operational practice. Participants have to evaluate experiences and assumptions in light of their operational practice. This process is very likely to affect the other members of the operational community. Therefore, changed opinions and views have to be legitimated by the community such that a discursive process about existing practice can emerge. However, if these discussions succeed, the Rally is no longer just a personal qualification program but a process that may initialize change and development of entire communities and organizations. Hence, the program must be seen as an interrelation between a secondary activity Process Rally which is practicing and reflecting within a temporary community and of a primary activity which is the operational practice (see Table II). For the successful application of this dialectic, however, sustainability of the secondary activity and diffusion of experience in the primary activity has to be secured. In the case of the Process Rally it is provided through successive performance with different participants from the diverse communities and through fostering a discursive process about Rally experiences in operational communities.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The article seeks to conceptualize learning in practice from a theories of practice view. This paradigmatic shift allows one to overcome problem areas related to traditional conceptions of learning such as the difficulty of knowledge transfer, and related to many situated learning models that neglect the aspect of reification of practice. Therefore the approach being presented in the following study considers learning and development as an interrelation of practicing and reflecting.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A case study of learning and development in production at a pharmaceutical company shows how these theoretical aspects can be applied in the working context of a complex organization. Results of the application are evaluated through several qualitative research methods.\nFindings: - The case study suggests that learning through corporate practicing in a process simulation which takes place in the original working context leads to intensive reflection between participants. The reflection brings about change in understandings and can finally lead to development in the organization.\nPractical implications: - Since the process simulation has been in use for several years now, the paper gives an example how learning and reflecting are brought about through corporate practicing in a context close to operational reality.\nOriginality/value: - The article provides a different perspective on learning in practice. Learning, as practicing and reflecting, is seen not only as an individual process but also as a prerequisite for organizational development. The paper provides, besides the theoretic conceptualization, the example of a successful implementation in process industry.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The effect of supplier manufacturing capabilities on buyer responsiveness: The role of collaboration
|
[
"Resource management",
"Supply chain management",
"Channel relationships",
"United Kingdom"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Development of global competition coupled with consumer intolerance to slow innovation and homogenised products have raised the profile of manufacturing responsiveness. In this broad sense, responsiveness refers to the speed with which action is taken in response to changing customer needs in an effective and profitable manner (Holweg, 2005). Whereas academic research has traditionally focussed on the critical internal attributes and capabilities that affect an organisation's level of responsiveness (Meredith and Vineyard, 1993; Mileham et al., 1999; Matson and McFarlane, 1999), recent studies have extended the scope to include aspects of the supply chain (Reichart and Holweg, 2007). This development implicitly hangs on the notion that internal capabilities are a necessary but not sufficient condition for responsiveness and that external supply networks will also have a significant effect (Fisher, 1997).This perspective clearly resonates with recent theorising within the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. Whereas the traditional view holds that competitive advantage is exclusively a function of internal capabilities (Barney, 1991), more recent studies hold that both internal and external capabilities are important to performance (McEvily and Zaheer, 1999; Das and Teng, 2000). This change in emphasis has led to the term \"extended resource-based view\" (ERBV) and is explicitly used within this paper to emphasise the need to consider the impact of suppliers' capabilities on buyer firm performance. Furthermore, since access to external resources is enabled or constrained by the interface between two organisations (Araujo et al., 1999) we consider the form of inter-organisational relationship that firms have with their suppliers. We argue that the level of supply chain collaboration has an important interaction effect on the relation between external resources and buying firm performance, where collaborative forms of buyer-supplier exchange facilitate greater access to external resources.This paper examines these arguments within the context of manufacturing buyer-supplier relationships. We suggest that three supplier manufacturing capabilities, namely responsiveness, flexibility and modularity, have a direct effect on buyer firm performance as measured by levels of customer responsiveness. Previous studies have shown that responsiveness to the customer is an important determinant of competitive advantage (Stalk and Hout, 1990) and is influenced by supplier relationships (Handfield and Bechtel, 2002). We chose to look at three firm-level capabilities that have been identified as important determinants of a responsive supply chain. For example, Fisher (1997) contends that market responsive supply chains need to select suppliers on the basis of speed and flexibility while products should use modular design to postpone differentiation for as long as possible. We also examine the extent to which the effect of supplier capabilities is contingent upon the level of buyer-supplier collaboration present in the relationship. We suggest that greater levels of collaboration enable a firm to have greater access to their suppliers' capabilities, thus moderating the effect on performance.Grounded within the ERBV of the firm, our paper contributes to theory by exploring how firms use supplier capabilities to enhance their performance and how inter-organisational relationships between buyer and supplier determine the derived benefits. We also contribute to the management debate by showing the importance of understanding a supplier's capability as a prelude to developing close collaborations. A curvilinear (inverted-U) \"trade-off\" between the level of collaboration and buyer firm performance is also identified, with important implications for both the management and allocation of resources to joint collaborative ventures.The remainder of the paper proceeds as follows. We first discuss the theoretical development of the ERBV of the firm, and develop our hypotheses related to accessing external resources and the moderating effect of the resource interface. Sample design and measurement are then described. We then discuss each hypothesis in relation to extant theory and the management of supplier relationships. We conclude with limitations and suggestions for future research.\n2 Literature review: 2.1 Developing an ERBV of the firm\n3 Research design: 3.1 The sample\n4 Analysis: Table III presents the means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations for the study's variables. These figures were based on data from 104 firms. The correlations among dependent and independent variables were consistent with expectations, and regression diagnostics also revealed a lack of serious multicollinearity among the variables.The hypothesised relationships were tested using hierarchical moderated regression analysis. This enables analysis of the proportion of variance that is shared exclusively with each additional variable (Licht, 2003). Prior to creation of the interaction terms, both independent and moderator variables were mean-centered to reduce the potential problem of multicollinearity (Aiken and West, 1991). The variance inflation factors associated with each regression coefficient range from 1.03 to 1.38, suggesting no problem with multicollinearity. We use the completely specified models shown in Tables IV and V to discuss each of the results.The analyses in Table IV showed that supplier flexibility (H1a), supplier responsiveness (H1b), and supplier modularity (H1c) were positively and significantly related to buyer responsiveness. These results supported H1. The results also support the moderating effect of collaboration on buyer responsiveness, as indicated by the data from Steps 1-3 in Table IV. The addition of the interaction terms (Step 3) significantly improved the results from Step 2 (p<0.001), and two of the three moderating relationships were found to be significant (p<0.05). H2 suggested that the effect of supplier manufacturing capabilities on buyer responsiveness will be moderated by collaboration. The interaction of collaboration and supplier flexibility (H2a) was not supported. Collaboration and supplier responsiveness (H2b) had a positive and significant interaction effect, significant at p<0.05. Contrary to expectations, supplier modularity had a significant (p<0.001), but negative, interaction with collaboration (H2c). These results provide mixed support for H2. Tables IV and V also show that the control variables of plant size, relationship duration, percentage of sales (custom) and buyer dependence were not associated with changes in a buyer's manufacturing responsiveness (p<0.10, two-tailed test).The results show that collaboration moderates the relationship between supplier and buyer responsiveness and between supplier modularity and buyer responsiveness in different ways. These interaction effects are shown in Figures 2 and 3. The relationships were plotted using values of one standard deviation above the mean to represent high levels of collaboration (labelled collaborative) and one standard deviation below the mean to represent low levels of collaboration (labelled arms-length; Cohen and Cohen, 1975). Figures 2 and 3 show a more positive relationship between supplier and buyer responsiveness in situations of high collaboration and a more positive relationship between supplier modularity and buyer responsiveness in situations of low collaboration.As shown in Table V, H3 predicted that collaboration would improve buyer responsiveness up to a point and then lead to a diminution (an inverted-U). The coefficient of collaboration to buyer responsiveness is positive and statistically significant (Step 2), while the coefficient of its squared term is negative and statistically significant (Step 3). The combination of a positive direct effect, and negative squared term, indicates the presence of a curvilinear relationship between collaboration and buyer responsiveness, and provides support for H3.\n5 Discussion: Our results provide support for the majority of our theoretical arguments. We first show that supplier manufacturing capabilities significantly influence a buyer's manufacturing performance. Second, we found that collaboration strengthens the contribution of supplier responsiveness to buyer responsiveness, but weakens the relationship between supplier modularity and buyer responsiveness. Finally, collaboration was also found to have a curvilinear (inverted u-shaped) relationship with buyer responsiveness. These results have implications for the RBV, particularly the extended RBV, as well as for managers seeking to improve their manufacturing performance. The results and implications are discussed below.5.1 Impact of supplier manufacturing capabilities on buyer performance\n6 Limitations and suggestions for future research: The findings open a number of potential avenues for future studies. First, we examine the effect of supplier manufacturing capabilities on buyer firm performance, supporting the theoretical rationale for the extended form of the RBV of the firm. Future research could examine the effect of different external resources and capabilities, such as knowledge, service quality, or information systems. Similarly, future studies could be extended to examine the effect of external resources within horizontal inter-firm relationships such as strategic alliances or joint ventures. This would help to further advance the case for the extended form of the RBV.Second, we examine the effect of supplier's capabilities on one measure of buyer firm performance. Although responsiveness to the customer is an increasingly important performance indicator (Handfield and Bechtel, 2002), future studies could examine the impact of external resources and capabilities on other performance outcomes. Following the advice of Ray et al. (2004), such measures should be primarily gauged at the business process level. Potential measures could thus include delivery times, customer service or plant utilisation rates. Positive findings would again strengthen the case for the inclusion of external resources in theories of competitive advantage.Finally, we examine the influence of collaboration as a moderating factor on the relationship between external capabilities and performance. Collaboration is an important aspect of the resource interface, particularly within buyer-supplier exchange, however, future studies may benefit from the inclusion of additional aspects of the interface. In particular, we would encourage the study of contractual mechanisms, relationship duration or the level of inter-organisational trust as potential moderating factors between external capabilities and firm performance.\n7 Conclusion: The traditional conceptualisation of the RBV of the firm posits competitive advantage as a function of internal resources and capabilities that fulfil the conditions of imperfect imitability, substitutability and mobility (Barney, 1991). More recent evidence suggests that competitive advantage can be a function of both internal and external resources (Mathews, 2003a; Lavie, 2006). This paper is explicitly positioned within this latter perspective and provides empirical support for the effect of supplier's capabilities on buyer performance. Furthermore, we draw attention to the role of supply chain collaboration in accessing external capabilities. The findings show that the nature of the relationship is variable and should be appropriate to the capabilities accessed. Finally, we also provide evidence for the curvilinear impact of collaboration on buyer performance. Whereas previous studies have been keen to extol the virtues of collaboration, we find that there exists an optimal point beyond which returns on the relationship decline.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between supplier capabilities, supply chain collaboration and buyer responsiveness.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The sample is drawn from UK manufacturing firms across eight industry sectors. Data are analysed using a three-step hierarchical regression model to investigate main, interaction and quadratic effects.\nFindings: - The results indicate that suppliers' capabilities (flexibility, responsiveness and modularity) directly impact buyer responsiveness but that the level of buyer-supplier collaboration moderates this relationship. Furthermore, the results show a curvilinear relationship directly between collaboration and buyer responsiveness, whereby there is an optimal point beyond which returns on the relationship decline.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The method adopted is a cross-sectional design and therefore cannot imply causality. Nonetheless, the findings suggest a number of implications. The paper identifies empirical evidence for the extended resource-based view (ERBV) of the firm and therefore has implications for the unit of analysis of future studies investigating competitive advantage. Contrary to popular wisdom, the findings also suggest a curvilinear relationship between supply chain collaboration and performance.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides novel insights into the impact of supplier capabilities on buyer responsiveness. Furthermore, the paper provides empirical evidence for the rationale of the ERBV within the context of operations management.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Entrepreneurial collaboration for R&D alliance performance: a role of social capital configuration
|
[
"R&D alliance",
"Alliance performance",
"Social capital",
"Entrepreneurial orientation",
"Technological performance",
"Business performance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: R&D alliances perform as a strategic platform for collaborative advantage while exposing a range of challenges (Steinmo and Rasmussen, 2018). By capitalizing on an entrepreneurial opportunity to codevelop technological innovations, R&D partners can promote the productive utilization of the resource pooling system and facilitate the innovation process for value cocreation (Brocke and Lippe, 2015). Simultaneously, the heterogeneity of partners with different motivations and interests interferes with the advancement of common grounds for resource exchange and orchestration (Al-Tabbaa and Ankrah, 2018). Potential coordination issues, including opportunism to manipulate alliances, conflicts in between sharing and protecting knowledge and high transaction/monitoring costs, can make a partnership vulnerable and its returns diminished (Belderbos et al., 2018). As such, failing to manage these challenges discourages the productive dissemination, assimilation and incorporation of network-available assets that are complementary to technological innovations.Against the challenges, research posits that the collaborative advantage depends on a social context of partner interactions at the alliance level, focusing on relational traits such as trustfulness, mutual commitment, common vision or shared value (Meier et al., 2016; Pinheiro et al., 2016). The literature advocates these traits' potential contribution to the enhancement of interactions across organizations, which cannot be a spontaneous phenomenon in the presence of high interdependency and heterogeneity, representing the idiosyncratic nature of R&D alliances. Despite insights into alliance-based interactions from prior studies, investigating individual traits in isolation may not capture the multiplicity of the social nature that characterizes the dynamic and complex interaction of alliance partners (Al-Tabbaa and Ankrah, 2018; Steinmo and Rasmussen, 2018). For instance, researchers have investigated the role of trusting networks in innovation (e.g. Bogers, 2011; Meier et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2014) but without considering the effect of other related traits. Meanwhile, others focused merely on social networks as resources that firms can exploit when searching for prospective partners (e.g. Lin et al., 2009; Schwartz et al., 2012). A comprehensive theoretical lens to incorporate multiple traits can help managers take a holistic view of the social mechanism of performance by alliance to intervene more appropriately.We propose that social capital (SC) can offer the holistic view of the multiple traits that institutionalize the R&D partners' conjoint routines toward common goals. SC refers to \"the sum of actual and potential resources embedded within, available through and derived from the networks of relationships possessed by individuals or social units\" (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998, p. 243). It encompasses various traits--such as network ties/stability, trustful and shared value/vision--in three dimensions: structural, relational and cognitive capitals (Adler and Kwon, 2002). Research acknowledges that SC involves regulating and relieving physical/mental relational issues (Torch and Valenzuela, 2011) and leveraging entrepreneurial initiatives of actors in a partnership (Gedajlovic et al., 2013). This notion leads to a rational assumption that SC can be exploited to configure a fertile ground that enables R&D partners' collaborative entrepreneurial interactions toward co-innovations. However, to what extent SC is advantageous for R&D alliance performance remains a \"black box\" in the literature and is an interesting research topic. The knowledge gap is not as much about whether R&D partners benefit from SC accrued in their alliances but rather about how and why its potential performance implications occur (Rauch et al., 2016). The simple premise in the literature on the direct impacts of relational traits on alliance performance can be challenged. Specifying the institutionalized social mechanism underlying performance by alliance will contribute for developing exiting theories of strategic alliances as well as practical approaches that need to be fine grained for better collaborative advantage (Maurer et al., 2011).For this, we introduce the focal alliance firms' entrepreneurial orientation (EO) as one of the possible explanations that contextualize the SC's alliance performance impact. Referring to a firm's strategic posture to be innovative, proactive and risk-taking for value creation (Covin and Lumpkin, 2011), EO becomes an important element for firm growth (Rauch et al., 2009), while the EO-performance relationship is contingent on specific contexts in which firms encounter (Lumpkin and Dess, 1996). According to Jiang et al. (2016), the system of conjoint research activities renders an idiosyncratic context in which partners entrepreneurially substantialize economic values of network-available assets. In this instance, SC at the network level may serve as a strategic asset that spark partners' decision to get more entrepreneurially involved in the value-cocreation process, and their EO may address the strategic intention to transform the network-embedded asset into a source of collaborative advantage. Yet, how to configure entrepreneurial collaboration within alliance partnerships for increased returns remains underexplored in research.In recognition of the paucity of knowledge on the literature, this study tests a theoretical framework to shed light on specific questions: to what extent is SC beneficial for R&D alliance performance and to what extent does EO explain the SC-alliance performance relationship? Our premises are that SC at the network level institutionalizes social contexts determining the methods of partners' interaction (Rach et al., 2016); and that their EO addresses a collaborative managerial process to materialize a nucleus of network-available assets and capitalize it for increased innovation and economic returns (Li et al., 2017). Responding to prior studies' call of more research on the SC-EO interface in temporal contexts (Gedajlovic et al., 2013; Stam et al., 2014), this study contributes to the literature by elucidating the potential value of institutionalized social nature for entrepreneurial collaboration configuration toward alliance performance.\nLiterature review and hypothesis: R&D alliance performance\nResearch method: Samples and data\nResults: Diagnostic test\nConclusion: Discussion\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Despite increasing research on the social nature of entrepreneurial collaboration in the context of alliances, its performance implication has been under debate. The present study tests a theoretical framework to elucidate the mediated relationship between social capital (SC) and research and development (R&D) alliance performance through the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of alliance firms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on the authors' literature review, SC is conceptualized as the sum of actual and potential assets, including structural, relational and cognitive capital, embedded within the networks of alliance partners. Alliance performance is regarded as a combination of technological performance and business performance, corresponding to the mutual and private benefits of R&D alliances, respectively. This study hypothesizes the potential impact of SC on alliance performance and the mediating role of EO in the relationship.\nFindings: The results from an analysis of 218 Korean ventures that participated in R&D alliance projects as focal alliance partners show that each SC dimension drives alliance firms to enact EO, which eventually leads to increased performance in technology and business. Specifically, EO contributes to translating the implications of SC for technological performance partially and for business performance completely.\nOriginality/value: This study links fragmented theoretical perspectives in research, shedding new light on the importance of social nature in the context of R&D alliances, which conditions entrepreneurial collaboration for better alliance performance. The findings suggest that practitioners should adopt an ambidextrous approach to the SC-EO interface at the alliance level, which opens a gateway to achieve greater performance by alliance.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Rhetorical construction of political leadership in social media
|
[
"Leadership",
"Social media",
"Politics",
"Rhetoric",
"Ethos"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Leadership as a practice and by its very nature is grounded in rhetoric (Dorsey, 2001). It was in the open squares of the ancient Greek city states, where political leaders performed rhetoric, that rhetoric developed as a topic, together with democracy and civil duty (Kennedy, 1994). Rhetoric of management is now an evolving scholarly area in understanding leadership and management issues. This is due to the fact that classical rhetoric has the tools to examine the persuasive and influential communication taking place in management and organizations (Bonet and Sauquet, 2010; Bonet, 2014; Lid Andersson, 2009). Because of the nature of managerial work, communication takes up the majority of time of managers and leaders (Mintzberg, 1973; Carlson, 1951; Tengblad, 2002). A focus on influential communication is specifically important for that part of management and organizations which is focused on leadership, as leaders need to communicate visions and cultural transformation (Kotter, 2013). Influential communication is also specifically important in organizations that are value driven and idea driven, such as non-profit and political organizations, where power and trust is earned rather than given. A political leader needs to be elected, and hence needs to influence voters and prove himself/herself trustworthy (Lid Andersson, 2009).\nTheoretical review: Social media and politics\nMethodology: Approach and analysis\nResults: About Alexander Stubb - father, husband, foreign minister, and athlete\nConclusion and reflection: Social media has gone from being a networked communication to a platformed sociality, in the words of van Dijk (2012). During the last decade social media has thus become an integrative part of our daily media consumption. This is also true for politicians, who are correspondingly using this new type of channel to communicate. A consequence of this medium is the possibility to rule over the messages that is spread as well the image of you as politician. Through these new types of media, political leaders can be in control of the construction of their image as leaders. In traditional media, journalists and editors filter images, but in social media the power of your image is in your own hands (Salgado and Stromback, 2012). We know that the way political leaders communicate with their audience, affects the perception about and trust in the politician and thereby the democracy. Social media is a tool for politicians when both language and images are apparent for the construction of their images. Internet provides opportunities for self-configuration and hence possibilities to legitimize political leaders (Chadwick, 2001; Chadwick and May, 2003). Twitter is a tool for framing yourself as a leader. It is our belief after this study that there is a further need for studies about how this tool is used, as it has the possibility of affecting democracy, elections, as well as performance of political positions.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze how political leaders can rhetorically use social media to construct their leadership, with a special focus on character - rhetorical ethos.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors used a qualitative case study which consisted of two political leaders' activities on Twitter. The leaders were chosen on the basis of similarity - both foreign ministers in Scandinavian countries and early adapters to ICT. All tweets, including photos, for selected period were analyzed qualitatively with the classical rhetorical concept of ethos.\nFindings: Social media is the virtual square for political leadership. The two political leaders studied use social media similarly for rhetorical means and aims, with ethos as rhetorical strategy. The rhetorical ethos they constructed differs radically though: busy diplomat vs a super-social Iron man. There is no single constructed ethos that political leaders aim for.\nResearch limitations/implications: Even though this is just one qualitative case study, it shows a variety of rhetorical means and constructs of ethos in political leadership.\nPractical implications: The study shows a possibility for political leaders to construct their own image and character through social media, for a potentially large audience of voters, without being filtered by political parties or media.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the evolving area of rhetoric in leadership/management and it adds to knowledge about how political leaders use social media.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Taking stock of the waqf-based Islamic microfinance model
|
[
"Islamic microfinance",
"Sustainable development",
"Social welfare economics"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Several definitions[1] of waqf by the earlier jurists and the contemporary scholars exist. First, Imam Shafi'i and Hanbali state that waqf is an irrevocable gift of a physical property ('ain) for the benefit of a donor's family or someone else or something, in perpetuity, as a charity promised and executed normally during the life-time of the donor, which cannot be transferred, given as a gift, or transmitted thereafter (Mohammad et al., 2006). Second, as given by Monzer Kahf (n.d.), the word waqf, as also agreed by many scholars such as Ahmed (2007) and Mohsin (2009), is used in Islam as holding certain property and preserving it for confined benefits or certain philanthropic acts and prohibiting any use or disposition of it other than the specific objectives given. Third, Cizakca (2011) defines waqf as \"privately owned property, corpus, is endowed for a charitable purpose in perpetuity and the revenue generated is spent for that purpose.\" Fourth, the online Middle-East Encyclopedia gives the definition of waqf as \"a Muslim religious endowment or the public body that manages the endowment in some cases, 'the waqf.' It may be land or a trust investment or any other kind of property.\"\n2. An insight into the fundamentals of waqf: Most scholars agree that the creation of waqf requires certain conditions. Since there is no clear reference to waqf in the Al-Qur'an, scholars have relied on hadith and actions of the companions of Rasulullah SAW. This allows a certain measure of flexibility in deriving its laws. Therefore, although scholars have agreed on the basis, basic rules and characteristics of waqf, there are still many unresolved issues surrounding these subjects. These issues will be highlighted in this section.\n3. The evolution of waqf development: Although there are still some unresolved issues with regards to permanent and movable property, we are keen on waqf revitalization and agree with scholars' opinion on the wider aspects of properties to be endowed and waqf management. These aspects will be discussed further in this section.\n4. Waqf-based Islamic microfinance: Microfinance has been identified as a key instrument for poverty alleviation (Kahf, 1999; Ahmed, 2002, 2007, 2011; Bhuiyan et al., 2012). Microfinance is important to the poor and to those who are excluded from mainstream financial services. It is important to note that microfinance has several characteristics: it provides small short-term loans (Shahinpoor, 2009)[8]; group peer pressure is usually used as the collateral instead of tangible assets; it is relatively easy, providing quick approval of loans with very little paperwork (Fruman and Goldberg, 1997); the interest rate is higher than the market interest rate (to cover the transaction costs and ensure that MFIs are sustainable); the loans have high repayment rates; and outreach is high due to convenient locations of the MFIs.\n5. Conclusion: Waqf is different from other kinds of charity such as gift or donations in which the corpus is retained and only the revenue of it will be used to help the poor and needy, and for welfare. This will enable the donor to get continuous rewards as long as the corpus can still generate benefit from it revenues. Therefore, waqf has high potential to become more popular as a source of funding for Islamic microfinance.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore two main aspects of waqf: the characteristics of waqf property and the management of waqf. This paper also discusses the governance of waqf management as a source of funds for Islamic microfinance institutions (MFIs).\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research uses content analysis method to examine various literatures that discuss the concept and management of waqf.\nFindings: The characteristics of cash waqf such as permanence, irrevocability and perpetuity differentiate waqf from other type of donations. Therefore, cash waqf-based Islamic microfinance needs to be sustainable. Good corporate governance is vital to ensure the sustainability. As the donors of cash waqf do not aim to make financial profit, waqf-based Islamic MFIs will be able to provide low-cost capital to the poor entrepreneurs. Furthermore, to ensure the perpetuity of the waqf, it is suggested that only revenue from the waqf property should be used for microfinance fund.\nSocial implications: The cash waqf-based Islamic microfinance will help the micro entrepreneurs to get low-cost capital without collateral. At the same time, public can donate any amount they afford to contribute to cash waqf.\nOriginality/value: The creation of a cash waqf-based Islamic MFI must observe the issues of agency conflicts and the right of stakeholders to a transparent management. This paper emphasizes the importance of good governance in managing the waqf property as a source of fund for Islamic MFIs.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The impact of personalization and compatibility with past experience on e-banking usage
|
[
"E-banking",
"Personalization",
"Compatibility"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: As access to the internet grows, more and more customers around the world are using online banking services. Information-oriented industries such as banking and securities trading services are experiencing high growth in the e-commerce arena. Since China Merchant Bank started the first online banking service for Chinese customers in 1997, almost all Chinese financial institutions have moved to offer e-banking services, many with some degree of personalization. However, electronic banking is still in its initial stage of implementation in China (AC Nielsen Consult, 2002; Laforet and Li, 2005; Ma and Zhao, 2012). Main barriers to e-banking usage in China were the perception of risks, Chinese traditional cash-carry banking culture, and understanding of the benefits of e-banking (Laforet and Li, 2005). There are also many other alternative personal financial management tools which prevent users from using e-banking, e.g. PayPal, AliPay, WeChat Wallet, etc. Given the obstacles mentioned above for e-banking in China, limited research has been carried out to increase usage of e-banking for existing customers and many of the e-banking studies still remain focused on the diffusion and adoption of e-banking in China (Laforet and Li, 2005).\n2. Literature review: E-banking has transformed traditional practices in banking and has attracted attention in the academic literature in many countries (Aderonke and Charles, 2010; Khare, 2010; Adapa, 2011; Ahmad and Al-Zu'bi, 2011; Pi and Liao, 2012; Sindwani and Goel, 2012; Akhlaq and Ahmed, 2013). Growth in this area of interest runs parallel with the spread of e-banking around the world. Akhlap and Ahmed (2013) researched the effect of motivation on trust in e-banking services and found that performance expectancy and effort expectancy have a significant impact on trust and acceptance of e-banking. Social and cultural factors were considered in the growth of mobile payment services in e-banking (Arvidsson, 2014; Dahlstrom et al., 2014; Soderberg and Sallis, 2014; Vyas and Raitani, 2014). Since e-banking is still in its initial stage of implementation in China, limited research has been conducted to investigate the usage of e-banking for existing customers. Most of the e-banking research still remains in the diffusion and adoption of e-banking in China (Laforet and Li, 2005).\n3. Conceptual framework and hypotheses development: Figure 1 presents our research model and the hypotheses regarding the synergistic impacts of personalization on performance expectancy and effort expectancy that in turn influence users' intention to use e-banking services. Based on research findings in ICT service innovation and its management strategies, personalization is hypothesized to have direct effects on performance expectancy and effort expectancy. Based on UTAUT model, effort expectancy or ease of use is hypothesized to have direct effect on performance expectancy, which in turn influences users' behavioral intention.\n4. Methodology: A survey was conducted to investigate the impacts of personalization on the e-banking usage decision process and the interactions between personalization and compatibility with past e-banking experience. Adapted from the work of Venkatesh and Davis (2000), this study employs a questionnaire containing 11 statements regarding various aspects of e-banking. A five-point Likert scale is used to capture the level of agreement with each statement. The survey includes two items about compatibility, four measuring performance expectancy, three measuring effort expectancy using reverse questions asking about ease of use, and two for behavioral intention concerning the use of e-banking services. Five additional items pertaining to personalization are adapted from the work of Lee and Lin (2005), Mathew and Stone (2003), and Swaid and Wigand (2009) resulting in an instrument with 16 items. Measurements for compatibility are adopted from Karahanna et al. (1999) and Chin and Gopal (1995). Performance Expectancy and other variables use measurements validated by Venkatesh et al. (2003). Scale items used in this study are presented in Appendix 1. The original items were in English and were translated into Chinese. Back-translation was employed to ensure an accurate translation.\n5. Results: Table I presents the mean value of each of the personalization dimensions. The reliability of the personalization construct is 0.79. The mean value across the five items is 3.66 (on a five-point Likert scale). All of the means were above the midpoint of the scale, indicating that personalization was recognized in the e-banking services utilized by the customers.\n6. Discussion and implications: This study reveals that customers are capable of recognizing the existence of personalized banking services delivered via the internet, e.g. customized financial offers, personalized design of the user web interface, and salutations. This personalization is found to significantly affect both performance expectancy and effort expectancy in positive ways. Personalization increases perceptions of utility and ease of use, making the delivery of e-banking services more efficient and effective. In turn, ease of use leads to increases in perceived utility and increases in perceived utility leads to increases in intent to use e-banking services. This relationship is enhanced when compatibility with past e-banking experiences is low. This study conclusively demonstrates that personalization is especially good for all customers but particularly for those inexperienced with the system and that banks may want to make a special effort to personalize services for those customers new to e-banking. It is worthwhile to invest into a personalized service to facilitate the usage of e-banking for inexperienced users. The theoretical contribution of this study is to demonstrate how the contingent factor of compatibility moderates the impact of personalization, thus extending the UTAUT model in the area of e-banking service adoption. Implications are twofold: personalization influences evaluations of both utility and ease of use and the effect is magnified when compatibility with prior e-banking experience is factored into the model. This is an important extension and future research should examine whether the same relationship holds in other industries using new technologies to deliver services. The UTAUT model, after extension by including the moderating impact of compatibility, works well in demonstrating the impact of various factors on the adoption of a new technological delivery system for a service.\n7. Limitations and future research: As a limitation of our study, we did not address various dimension of service personalization. Personalization of financial products, market information, e-banking system features, etc. was all included in one construct based on previous literature. Another limitation of the study stems from not investigating other possible outcome variables, such as affective loyalty, relationship quality, and long-term usage behaviors. In addition, further demographics may be included as well, for example, financial literacy. Since data were collected in China, these results may not be generalized to e-banking contexts in other part of the world or different IT artifact. Sample size should be increased in future research as well. The data were collected from the 30 branches of one commercial bank. There are quite a few respondents who did not fill in all information in the questionnaire.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Banks and financial services providers are increasingly delivering their services via electronic banking, also known as e-banking. Yet even though this type of delivery is now common, the degree of personalization in the services provided via this channel exhibit considerable variation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of service personalization on consumer reaction to the e-banking service. Based on research of information and communication technology (ICT) service innovation and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, this study further examines one contingent factor, compatibility with previous experience with e-banking. This study focuses on the interactions effect of personalization and technology compatibility on customer e-banking service usage.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted to investigate the impacts of personalization on e-banking usage decision process and the interactions between personalization and compatibility with past e-banking experience. Quota sampling was applied and different type of customers were approached in 30 branches of the commercial bank. Data were collected from a sample of 181 banking customers in a metropolitan region in southern China.\nFindings: The results indicated that personalization leads to increased performance expectancy and decreased effort expectancy, which in turn lead to increasing intention to continue to use e-banking services. In addition, compatibility with previous e-banking experience and personalization produces an interaction effect on both performance expectancy and effort expectancy.\nResearch limitations/implications: The theoretical contribution of this study is to demonstrate how the contingent factor of compatibility moderates the impact of personalization, thus extending the UTAUT model in the area of e-banking service adoption. Implications are twofold: personalization influences evaluations of both utility and ease of use, and the effect is magnified when compatibility with prior e-banking experience is factored into the model. This is an important extension and future research should examine whether the same relationship holds in other industries using new technologies to deliver services. The UTAUT model, after extension by including the moderating impact of compatibility, works well in demonstrating the impact of various factors on the adoption of a new technological delivery system for a service.\nPractical implications: This study has two significant implications for managerial practices. First, the study sheds lights on the segmentation of e-banking customers. Modern marketers know that the best way to engage with consumers is through personal messaging strategies and should make great efforts to identify customers before trying to reach them. In the e-banking realm, consumer banking preferences keep changing. With a clear understanding of the different consumer banker segments, financial institutions can identify which channels appeal to them. For example, some users are more likely than average to use e-banking. Second, this study helps e-banking service provider design different personalized e-banking service for different customers.\nSocial implications: This study sheds light on social value of personalization, particularly among those new to a delivery platform.\nOriginality/value: This study provides evidence demonstrating that personalization increases customer perceptions of performance expectancy and decreases effort expectancy, and that the effect is most profound for customers with limited level of perceived compatibility with past experience with e-banking. This paper extended the UTAUT model and research on ICT service innovation by providing more insights on the impacts of e-banking service personalization and the contingency impact of user's background in e-banking context.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
European Social Fund in Portugal: a complex question for human resource development
|
[
"International HRD",
"Investments",
"European Social Fund",
"Evaluation",
"Portugal",
"Human resource management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the last 40 years, the economic history of Portugal had several crucial turning points. First, in 1974, democracy was installed after a non-violent revolution; second, in 1986, the country joined the European Union; thirdly, in 2002, Portugal became one of the founding members of the Eurozone. From a HRD perspective, those three events had also very significant consequences. In 1974, the traditional Portuguese training system (known as \"Ensino Tecnico\") which had created, since the 1930s, a working class elite, was dismantled; in 1986, and after a long period, in which the main priority in the HR domain was to eliminate illiteracy, the ESF began to intervene in Portugal, generating a massive second wave of training programs; in 2002, the country began to feel the pressure of the Eurozone, compounded with the emergence of the BRICs, meaning that, more than ever, skills became the passport for the Portuguese success.The European Social Fund (ESF) is a very special case of international institution, devoted to the field of HRD. The ESF is part of the European Union (EU) architecture. In fact, it began as early as in the founding Treaty of Rome, which prescribed the necessity of a European instrument that would defend the European labor force from the dangers posed by the Economic Common Market (European Commission, 1997).Since 1958, the ESF had a complex evolution, divided in at least four phases: 1958-1971; 1972-1983; 1984-1989 and 1990 onwards. Each one of the phases was directed by a set of legislation. The current phase began in 1990 with the \"Reform of the European Structural Funds\" and has been evolving in sub-phases that correspond to the successive \"Programming Phases\" of the European Union, namely 1990-1993, 1994-1999, 2000-2006 and 2007-2013 (European Commission, 1997; European Commission, 2004; European Commission, 2007).A brief summary of the four phases of the ESF is included in the following Table I.Through all those phases and over the past 60 years (first operations began to be funded in 1960), the ESF has always been seen has an instrument of \"regional balance\" within the EU space. In fact the main EU fund is the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD), and the ESF has focused its operations in the regions defined as \"priority\" by the EFRD. One may consider that the ESF in in fact the \"labor department\" of the EFRD. As it stands those \"regional balancing policies\" may also be considered as IHRD policies guided by a public body, namely the European Commission.As a general rule, in the ESF, the country, which is recipient, does not have to fund all the cost of the operation. The ESF is therefore a mechanism of transfer of funds, with the intention of promoting HRD operations. Hence, it is not a surprise that the main mechanisms of self-evaluation put in place by the ESF administration are based in the number of people supported and in the absorption of funds (Tome, 2001b). If the priority rules have been linked to regional balances, the eligibility rules have been adjusted to the social policy dilemmas the EU has been facing. It is not a surprise that for the current 2007-2013 period the ESF aims at:[...] increasing the adaptability of workers and enterprises, enhancing access to employment and participation in the labor market, reinforcing social inclusion by combating discrimination and facilitating access to the labor market for disadvantaged people; and promoting partnership for reform in the fields of employment and inclusion (European Commission, 2011).However it is important to define if the current effective use of the ESF funds had any lasting impact in the recipient countries. Given that the absorption of funds is seen as a variable that measures the success of the operations, one may question if those quantitative issues may hinder the attainment of the economic objectives of the ESF.Thus, for the last 25 years the country has received an intense and almost continuous flow of money from the ESF in order to increase directly the level of competencies, skills and HR. Ultimately, that investment aimed to increase the country's levels of wages, productivity employment, quality and exports. Therefore, HRD scholars need to be aware that in the last 25 years the ESF has directed a massive operation of investment in HRD in Portugal. That massive operation should have had a very considerable influence in the country's economic fortunes. However, the current Portuguese economic situation is not perfect (the country's rate of growth slowed considerably in the last decade and the country had to make an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank to salvage its Public Finances) and the situation in the labor market is even worse: unemployment is beating record levels and the youngsters call themselves the \"Silly Generation\", \"the generation without remuneration\" and the generation that \"studies to be slave\".In this context, the aim of this paper is to make an assessment on the massive operation of investment in HDR lead by the ESF in Portugal in the last 25 years. Such an assessment will be made by using basic well known economic theories. Accordingly this article comprises five sections. The first section presents the theoretical background; the second section describes the methodology; the third section contains the results the fourth includes the discussion; the last section contains the concluding comments.\nTheoretical background: Basic HRD theories and empirical studies\nMethodology: Variables to be analyzed\nResults: Absorption or direct investment\nDiscussion: Operations like the ones that were funded by the ESF in Portugal may have significant quantitative consequences. Those consequences relate for instance, to the number of existing courses, the number of people involved, or the volume of costs incurred. In Economics these variables define the investment and correspond to some sort of social effort. Given that the ESF is seen as a way of funding HRD operations, which should themselves have a considerable economic and social significance, it is logic that the magnitude of the ESF investment should be considerable. However, quantity is not all. In fact, the importance of quantity as a variable of evaluation of an investment in HRD decreases with the increase of the quantity. The more important the effort is, the biggest should be its effects, so the biggest should be its qualitative significance. Qualitative effects exist in the form of increases in qualifications, wages, employment levels, productivity, or exports, and in the decrease of the unemployment. In fact, an HRD operation is only really successful if its qualitative success is unquestionable.The problem with the Portuguese experience of the ESF, is that there are two very striking features in the schematic picture of the ESF operations in Portugal that emerges from the previous section: the first one is the enormous quantity; the second one is the small or the unidentified quality.In relation to the quantitative aspects, Tables II and III show a massive HRD operation. To our knowledge, only in Ireland has the ESF had such a strong influence in HRD, but in this the latter case the situation lasted from 1975 to 1999, whereas in the Portuguese case it will last at least from 1986 to 2013 and probably longer. Additionally, the Portuguese situation is much more difficult than the Irish. The Portuguese level of economic development is much lower than the Irish, and Portugal has much bigger skill shortages than Ireland. It is also interesting to note that in order to assure the spending of the funds that have been contracted in the candidacy phase the ESF effectively generated a set of providers and induced a large number of demanders. These providers and demanders in make the essential of the Portuguese training sector. That sector effectively depends on the continuity of the ESF to survive. Therefore one has to conclude that in quantitative terms, the presence of the ESF in Portugal has been an extraordinary phenomenon.In relation to the qualitative aspects, however, the results obtained point to much less impressive consequences. In fact, the evolution of the skills of the Portuguese labor force, between 1988 and 2009, as described in Table IV, does not show the drastic change that the amount of ESF investment would suggest that would have happened. When some half a million persons are trained each year, it is not immense that on average, the number of non-self-employed highly skilled persons raised by 25,000 each year, the number of skilled workers raised by 20,000 and the number of unskilled workers raised by 10,000. One may wonder what happened to the other 445,000 workers that each year were supported by the ESF. A good point to bring in the discussion is that the \"Personnel Tables\" only account by around half of the Portuguese Labor force, but in any case a higher impact would have been expected.Finally, it has to be noted that the link between the large quantity and the small quality may be due the fact that the ESF is a public institution with an international scope. The Portuguese perceive that the ESF comes from \"abroad\" and is money that, once contracted, must be spent. Indeed, the ESF is a subset of the funds by which the \"central and rich\" Europe, should help the \"Southern and poor\" Europe to converge to its own level of economic level. But the \"absorption logic\" which is generated by that \"international perspective\" is short-sighted and originates extremely large programs that have very few positive consequences. The fact that the absorption logic is present means that the population that would need more the ESF is given less preference, in comparison to the population towards which it is easier to make funded operations. One gets the impression that for years and years the people that were supported were not those who really needed training and HRD, but those who met the program frameworks and were easily located by the program administrators via the large consultancy network that was also created. This explains the perennial bias of the ESF in Portugal in favor of the relatively young and already educated individuals and with prejudice of the relatively old and not so well educated. The current unemployment crisis Portugal faces, in which total and long term figures are beating records, is a stark reminder of those qualitative problems the ESF faces in the country. As a consequence, the number of members of the Portuguese labor force that today need training is still extremely high, namely because the current economic crisis is asking companies to shift definitively to the services and knowledge driven economy. Unfortunately, 25 years of significant quantitative ESF support did not equip the Portuguese labor force to meet that challenge due to the qualitative problems.\nConcluding comments: Conclusions\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This article aims to review the application of the funds awarded by the European Social Fund (ESF) to Portugal, since 1986, from a human resource development (HRD) perspective.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Several variables are analyzed: investment, absorption, people, impact of investment, evolution of skills, main programs, supply and demand for training and the role of the state.\nFindings: - The main conclusion of the paper is that, even if the ESF was extremely important in quantitative terms in Portugal, its qualitative implications were modest.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The Portuguese ESF case should be compared with other national cases in the European Union and elsewhere. The ESF patterns should be compared with other cases of international support made by multinationals, non-governmental organizations or bodies like the World Bank or the United Nations.\nPractical implications: - European monetary stability and integration has to be based on social stability and integration. The ESF consequences in the \"national\" HRD markets may be far-reaching, effectively defining the main elements of the HRD market. Great attention should be paid to positive impacts while defining the priorities of the ESF intervention.\nSocial implications: - The ESF was responsible for the funding of a very considerable part of the Portuguese training market. Precisely because of that huge importance, quality is a very important issue.\nOriginality/value: - The article is an attempt to analyze and evaluate 20 years of intervention in the HRD field with an international dimension in a relatively poor and struggling country in European terms.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Impact of food price volatility on child health and education attainment: A case study of urban households of Pakistan
|
[
"Child health",
"Child education",
"Food price volatility",
"L66",
"I00"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the year 2007-2008, the prices of food doubled its cost in the international market. Most of the staple food commodities received a high jump in prices; for instance, the prices of rice and wheat were increased by 76 and 121 percent, respectively (D'Souza and Jolliffe, 2010). Headey (2014) named these high prices as an international food crisis. This international food price shock became the major cause of price hike for domestic food prices in 49 developing countries. Pakistan was also one of the victims of an international food price shock. In 2007, food inflation was 17.65 percent, whereas in 2008, it rose to 23.13 percent. The reason for this (food inflation) increase was the shortage of wheat supplied at higher prices, which, in turn, raised the prices of milk, meat, vegetables and oil (Awan and Imran, 2015). In 2009, the food inflation reduced to 12.93 percent, but again in 2010, it showed a rising trend; however, due to intense floods and heavy rains, the inflation arose to 18.02 percent. Later, the wheat price showed a further hike in its prices, and after these ups and downs in 2014-2015, food inflation decreased to 3.6 percent (Economic Survey (2015-2016)).\n2. Literature review: To assess the causal affect of high food prices on child mortality and health in Malawi, Hartwig (2008) employed the pooled cross-sectional data for the period of 2000 and 2004. On the basis of difference-in-difference (DID) estimation technique, the author concluded that food price distress did not significantly increase the possibility of child mortality in affected areas. Also, food price crises did not impact the acute undernutrition. This issue was also descriptively discussed in the FAO/UNDP/UNESCO/UNICEF/WFP/WHO (2008), according to which the quick increase in prices of food worsened the malnutrition rate in Pakistan. It raised the problem of high health care cost, low productivity and also caused wasting in children. Due to this reason, most of the population switched to less nutritional and cheaper foods. Moreover, the poor class of urban areas mostly eats insufficient and undernourished food as most of them are unable to afford the cost of nourished meals. These adjustments in dietary patterns affect children's growth and increase child mortality and maternal mortality.\n3. Methodology: This section explains the methodology of PSM. It is used to verify the hypothesis that high food price volatility deteriorates the attainment of child health and education.\n4. Data sources and model: This study uses two years' household-level data, for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, covering urban areas of Pakistan. The data were collected from the Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey (PSLM) and the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES). These two rounds of data set covered 32,360 households of 13 large cities of Pakistan: Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Sialkot and Sukkur. The households included in the data of 2013-2014 were used as control group, whereas the households included in 2014-2015 data were used as treatment group. The treatment was provided by controlling the food price volatility in 2014-2015.\n5. Empirical results: This section consists of two sub-sections. The first sub-section describes the data of two outcome variables used in this study (with the help of t-test) and explains their difference between the two groups when treatment = 0 and when treatment = 1. These t-test results (reported in Table AI) are also determined at the provincial level. However, the t-test for other covariates is also shown in the same table. The second sub-section explains the results of PSM technique.\n6. Quality assessment of PSM: This section provides different methods by which the estimates of ATT are verified:\n7. Conclusions and policy implication: This paper employed the household-level data for 13 cities of Pakistan. In order to evaluate the implications of volatile food prices for child health and educational attainment in urban areas of Pakistan, the rate of child immunization and the rate of child school attendance are used as proxies for child health and education, respectively. The objectives of this paper are accomplished by using PSM technique. PSM is the most excellent way to determine the above-stated consequences in the nonexistence of randomization. The year 2013-2014 (when food price volatility was high) was considered as a control group and 2014-2015 was considered as an exposed or treated group, when food price volatility was relatively low. It is elaborated that both the rate of child immunization and the rate of school attendance were significantly poorer for the households of Pakistan during the period of high food price volatility (2013-2014), as compared to the period of low food price volatility. After controlling the problem of selection bias, it was found that the rate of child immunization was 17.36 percentage points higher (in the period of low volatility), as compared to high volatile period. Similarly, the rate of child attendance was also 3 percentage points higher in the low volatile period, as compared to high volatile period after matching, which showed that the data were biased before matching. These results reveal that treatment of low food price volatility has a positive and significant impact on both variables. These results second the theoretical background of this paper.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find the impact of food price volatility on child health and education attainment in urban areas of Pakistan. This research also compares the two variables among the two time periods: the period of low volatile food prices (2014-2015) and the period of high volatile food prices (2013-2014). The rate of child immunization and the rate of child school attendance are used as proxies for child health and child education, respectively.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study employs propensity score matching (PSM) technique introduced by Rosenbaum and Rubin (1983), to overcome the selection bias problem in the observational studies.\nFindings: The closing part of the paper concludes that both the rate of child immunization and the rate of child school attendance are significantly poorer for the households of Pakistan in the control period (of high food price volatility) as compared to the treated period (of low food price volatility). After controlling the problem of selection bias through PSM technique, it is found that there is a further increase in the rate of child immunization and the rate of child school attendance. It proves that the data were biased before applying the matching technique.\nOriginality/value: This study lengthens the literature by identifying the impact of food price volatility on child health and education of urban households of Pakistan, using high frequency data of PSLM/HIES, with the help of semi-parametric technique of matching. This type of micro-level research has not been conducted (nationally or internationally) so far; therefore, it would possibly open a sphere for policy makers to implement the suitable policies.\nPeer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2019-0275.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Evolution of the social structure of hospitality management literature: 1960-2016
|
[
"Network analysis",
"Hospitality",
"Co-authorship",
"Social structure",
"Small-world network theory"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This study's primary purpose is to address how the social structure in hospitality management studies has grown and evolved. The social structure indicated by research collaborations is one significant method of identifying a discipline's direction as it evolves, as social structure generates the formal and informal networks that enable knowledge creation and dissemination (Zupic and Cater, 2015). Therefore, many studies have focused on research collaboration via authorship/co-authorship analysis (Abbasi et al., 2011; Acedo et al., 2006; Ahmed et al., 2017; Correa et al., 2017; Dehdarirad and Nasini, 2017; Elango and Rajendran, 2012; Glanzel and Schubert, 2004; Koseoglu, 2016; Koseoglu et al., 2016; Kretschmer, 2004; Newman, 2004; Yan and Ding, 2009; Ye et al., 2013). Specifically, hospitality literature includes several studies that combine tourism and hospitality together when examining social structure (Benckendorff, 2010; Jogaratnam et al., 2005; Roberts, 1998; Ye et al., 2013; Youn et al., 2011; Zhao and Ritchie, 2007). Based on the sample size, time span and mixed fields (tourism and hospitality combined), the scope of these studies was limited. However, to understand the maturity and sophistication of hospitality management as a field, studies including periodic reviews of only hospitality management literature (Rivera and Pizam, 2015) should be conducted. Consequently, this study examines the growth and evolution of the social structure resulting from collaboration within hospitality management research to gain more understanding about the maturity of hospitality research. This study's primary objectives include:\nLiterature review: Hospitality management\nMethodology: This study used co-authorship analysis. Researchers have used co-authorship analysis to explore the dynamics of the invisible college in specific disciplines (Ahmed et al., 2017; Batistic et al., 2017; Dehdarirad and Nasini, 2017; Garcia-Lillo et al., 2017; Yu and Xu, 2017). To conduct co-authorship analysis the study considered the following steps -journal selection and the scope of the data, data preparation and analysis:\nResearch findings and discussion: Authorship data\nConclusions and future research: This study examines the social structure of the hospitality management field. Data were obtained from articles and research notes published in seven leading hospitality management journals between 1960 and 2016. This study generates important contributions to hospitality management literature and represents one of the first published attempts to explore the social structure of hospitality management literature via authorship and co-authorship analysis. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed below.\nPractical implications: The findings of the study provide a useful performance analysis. To the extent that institutions and individuals are rewarded for publications, this study demonstrates the performance and connectivity of several key researchers in the field. This finding could also be interesting to (post)graduate students. This study identified critical and core researchers in the hospitality management field. Thus, hospitality managers looking for advisors and consultants benefit from the findings. The findings of this study could help agencies or institutions make decisions on project grants by finding panel members, reviewers and directions for proposals related to hospitality. Junior researchers, junior professors or professors from other fields could use the findings of this study to elaborate on research trends and find collaborators from the hospitality management field.\nLimitations and future studies: This study has a few limitations. First, this study identified the social structure of the hospitality management knowledge domain using seven hospitality management journals written in English. Future studies may consider more journals, including journals from other knowledge domains, in either English or other languages. Additionally, future studies may focus on articles published in top conference proceedings to gain further understanding of the social structure of hospitality management research. Second, the implications of the study focused only on the informal social structure of the domain at the researcher level. Future research may examine the issues by focusing on the institutions or countries promoting the hospitality management knowledge domain. In future studies, researchers could look at the intellectual and contextual structures of hospitality management by using relational bibliometric methods, such as co-citation and co-word analysis (Garcia-Lillo et al., 2016; Zupic and Cater, 2015). Finally, this study only focused on the largest components of the network. Future studies could compare the structure of the other components of the network to gain deeper understanding regarding the knowledge production by distinct cultural-linguistic communities or groups. Furthermore, the components of the hospitality management knowledge system should be discussed to develop new directions for the field's growth (Tribe and Liburd, 2016).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to address how the social structure of the hospitality management field has evolved from 1960 to 2016.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The informal social structure of the hospitality management literature was analyzed by collecting authorship data from seven hospitality management journals. Co-authorship analyses via network analysis were conducted.\nFindings: According to the findings, throughout the history of hospitality management, international collaboration levels are relatively low. Based on social network analysis, the research community is only loosely connected, and the network of the community does not fit with the small-world network theory. Additional findings indicate that researchers in the hospitality management literature are ranked via degree centrality, closeness centrality and betweenness centrality. Cliques, which contain at least five researchers, and core researchers are identified.\nPractical implications: This study helps both scholars and practitioners improve the informal structure of the field. Scholars must generate strong ties to strengthen cross-fertilization in the field; hence, they collaborate with authors who have strong positions in the field. Specifically, this provides a useful performance analysis. To the extent that institutions and individuals are rewarded for publications, this study demonstrates the performance and connectivity of several key researchers in the field. This finding could be interesting to (post)graduate students. Hospitality managers looking for advisors and consultants could benefit from the findings. Additionally, these are beneficial for journal editors, junior researchers and agencies/institutions.\nOriginality/value: As one of the first study in the field, this research examines the informal social structure of hospitality management literature in seven journals.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Full- and part-time wage differences in Spain: an analysis along the wage distribution
|
[
"Earnings",
"Part-time workers",
"Pay differentials",
"Wage distribution"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Recently, many governments have considered part-time jobs as a response to economic crisis and subsequent unemployment rise, given that they offer greater flexibility to firms regarding the use of their labour force while at the same time facilitating job creation. However, part-time jobs are usually associated to lower wages, high temporality (with lower firing costs), and fewer worker rights, like paid holidays or remuneration for medical leave. There is a wide literature confirming this view. In particular, part-time employees earn less in terms of hourly wages than full-time employees and this wage gap is not explained by differences in the characteristics between both groups of workers in term of personal characteristics (Hirsch, 2005, among others). Moreover, part-time workers usually have reduced access to social security benefits (Houseman and Machiko, 1998), fewer labour progress opportunities (Tilly, 1990; Russo and Hassink, 2008), smaller pensions (Gimm and Arber, 1998; O'Connell and Gash, 2003), less labour stability (Munoz Bustillo et al., 2008; Fernandez-Kranz et al., 2015) and a lower unionisation rate (Belous, 1989).\n2. Theoretical hypothesis: 2.1 Part-time wage penalties for men and women\n3. Data: The empirical analysis carried out in this paper is based on the matched employer-employee microdata of the most recent wave of the SES, corresponding to 2010. The SES is designed as independent cross-section databases updated every four years by the Spanish National Statistics Institute, and it is Spain's sample for the European SES a survey carried out in all European Union member countries in accordance with a harmonised methodology. It is a nationally representative survey on firms that covers employees working in the month of October at establishments of any size and whose economic activity is framed in Sections B to S of the sectoral classification NACE 2009. Therefore, it encompasses the bulk of the private sector of the Spanish economy, excluding only specific sectors such as agriculture and domestic service. The survey design corresponds to a two-stage sampling of employees working in firms registered in the social security system, and hence one of its most important features is the inclusion of matched employer-employee microdata (i.e. observations for several employees in each establishment). Moreover, it is important to note that it is a survey specifically designed to provide reliable information about the characteristics of the wage distribution in the Spanish labour market.\n4. Methodology: In the empirical analysis, we apply the methodology proposed by Fortin et al. (2011), a technique that enhances the development of the empirical decompositions of differences between two distributions of a variable. This technique provides a breakdown of the differences between distributions in the value of any distributional statistic (as the value of a quantile or an inequality index) based on differences in the endowments of characteristics and in their returns. This procedure has considerable advantages compared to techniques previously proposed in the literature, which also permit the decomposition of differences between distributions based on construction of counterfactual distributions (DiNardo et al., 1996; Juhn et al., 1993; Machado and Mata, 2005 and Melly, 2005, 2006). Thus, whereas the latter techniques consist of aggregated decompositions, which, aside from partial exceptions, provide exclusively the separate effects on the differential of differences in characteristics and returns, respectively, Fortin, Lemieux and Firpo's methodology provides a detailed decomposition that allows us to ascertain additionally the individual contribution of each explanatory variable for both components.\n5. Results: 5.1 Descriptive evidence\n6. Conclusions: This paper examines wage differentials between part-time and full-time workers in Spain distinguishing by gender. Our analysis contributes to the literature by considering differences along the wage distribution, given that previous evidence on this issue is non-existent for Spain and is rather scarce for other advanced countries. We consider that Spain is an interesting analysis case from an international perspective given the significant increase of part-time work during the last years, but especially because in contrast with most other advanced countries a majority of part-time employment in Spain is involuntary both for males and females.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine wage differences between part- and full-time workers distinguishing by gender by using a large Spanish matched employer-employee data set and an econometric decomposition that permits to decompose wage differences by quantiles of the wage distribution.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research is based on cross-section matched employer-employee microdata from a large representative survey (the Encuesta de Estructura Salarial) which is carried out with a harmonised methodology common to all European Union member countries and that has been designed specifically to provide reliable evidence about characteristics of the wage distribution such us wage differentials associated with the type of working time. From a methodological point of view, the econometric decomposition technique proposed recently by Fortin et al. (2011) to decompose wage differences between part-time and full-time workers by quantiles of the wage distribution is applied. This methodology has the advantage over similar techniques that provides a detailed decomposition of wage differentials and has not been used before to examine the wage impact of part-time jobs.\nFindings: The results show that the significant raw wage gap that part-time workers experience in Spain differs substantially along the wage distribution. In the case of part-time females, the wage disadvantage is mostly explained by their relative endowments of characteristics (and particularly by their lower endowments of human capital and their segregation into low-wage sectors) but a significant wage penalty still persists, increasing along the wage distribution. In the case of males the wage disadvantage is only found in the lower part of the distribution and it is due both to their worst endowments of characteristics and a significant wage penalty.\nResearch limitations/implications: The evidence for Spain shows that the part-time work tends to affect differently to the wages of males and females, with a higher part-time penalty for males, as predicted by the \"flexibility stigma\" hypothesis, and penalising low-qualified men in the lower part of the wage distribution and high-qualified women in the upper part of the distribution the most.\nOriginality/value: The analysis contributes to the literature by examining wage differences along the wage distribution for both genders using econometric decomposition methods, an aspect that to the authors' knowledge has been examined only scarcely in the international literature with non-conclusive evidence and has not been examined in previous studies for the Spanish case. In this vein, Spain is a particularly interesting analysis case from an international perspective of the wage consequences of part-time jobs, given that in contrast with most other advanced countries a majority of part-time employment in this country is involuntary and this phenomenon is especially affecting disadvantaged groups.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
An integrated social response to disasters: the case of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Sri Lanka
|
[
"Long-term recovery",
"Post-disaster recovery",
"Recovery assessment",
"Tsunami ten years on",
"Tsunami 2004"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: National disasters often come with little prior warning and therefore, do not give much time to even prepare an emergency response that naturally involves emergency relief measures. On the other hand, long-term measures such as resettlement, livelihood development, social infrastructure provision and psycho-social support for affected persons and communities involve careful planning of interventions in an integrated fashion with the full participation of affected communities.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Assessing long-term recovery after disaster\n3. Methodology and field work: The area affected by the tsunami is vast and it is an immense task to conduct a field study covering the whole area and its population. This qualitative study covers a number of resettled communities from the Eastern and Southern province (see Table I and Figure 1). Communities in Galle, Batticaloa and Ampara were selected as they were all severely affected by the 2004 tsunami and suffered displacement of people in large numbers that required large-scale resettlement. The three areas also covered different ethnic constituencies, thereby enabling comparison and to consider factors, such as social integration. Even though the communities covered do not represent the entire population, they nevertheless help to determine the general patterns that prevail in the affected areas. In other words, based on the field data, the study provides a view on the nature and extent of recovery and persisting issues ten years after the IOT.\n4. Results: As is well known, international humanitarian response to the disaster was unprecedented. Hundreds of non-governmental organizations and thousands of volunteers moved into the country offering diverse forms of assistance. Combined with the contribution of local organizations and people, such external support helped Sri Lanka to resettle most of the survivors within a few years. While the government declared a buffer zone precluding resettlement of the displaced too close to the sea, the inhabitants falling within the limits of the buffer zone were resettled in new settlements established in the surrounding areas, some as far as ten kilometers from the coast. Since then the buffer zone policy has been revised to accommodate different local demands.\n5. Conclusions: The paper has presented the results of a qualitative assessment of the recovery process after ten years since the 2004 IOT in the light of data collected from ten communities in Eastern and Southern Sri Lanka. Based on the data collected using qualitative techniques, three types of indices were developed to measure the nature and extent of recovery. The indices used indicate where different communities stand today in terms of diverse aspects of recovery. The key finding of the study is that the outcome of the interventions, in terms of the nature and extent of recovery, has varied widely depending on such factors as the nature of the community, nature of the intervention and mode of delivery of donor support.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The impact of disasters caused by natural hazards on people in affected communities is mediated by a whole range of circumstances such as the intensity of the disaster, type and nature of the community affected and the nature of loss and displacement. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the need to adopt a holistic or integrated approach to assessment of the process of disaster recovery, and to develop a multidimensional assessment framework.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study is designed as a novel qualitative assessment of the recovery process using qualitative data collection techniques from a sample of communities affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in Eastern and Southern Sri Lanka.\nFindings: The outcomes of the interventions have varied widely depending on such factors as the nature of the community, the nature of the intervention and the mode of delivery for donor support. The surveyed communities are ranked in terms of the nature and extent of recovery.\nPractical implications: The indices of recovery developed constitute a convenient tool of measurement of effectiveness and limitations of external interventions. The assessment used is multidimensional and socially inclusive.\nOriginality/value: The approach adopted is new to post-disaster recovery assessments and is useful for monitoring and evaluation of recovery processes. It also fits into the social accountability model as the assessment is based on community experience with the recovery process.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Effects of customer-based corporate reputation on perceived risk and relational outcomes: empirical evidence from gender moderation in fashion retailing
|
[
"Commitment",
"Trust",
"Moderation",
"Mediation",
"Perceived risk",
"Customer-based corporate reputation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Many fashion retailers face reputational challenges, many of which involve their actual or alleged behavior toward stakeholders such as suppliers, staff and customers. Recent, well-publicized cases exemplify this challenge. For example, retailers KiK (Germany) and Primark (mainly United Kingdom), both known for their cheap merchandise, have worked to improve their supply chains after discovery that Asian subcontractors paid their employees very low wages (Lahiri and Passariello, 2013). US retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has received criticism in Europe for hiring staff for its stores solely on the basis of appearance (Lutz, 2013). Finally, the Swedish retailer H&M has come under criticism in the USA for allegedly shredding and disposing unsold clothes, instead of giving them to charity (Kawalek, 2010). All these examples illustrate that fashion retailers need to manage their reputation, which can come under threat in myriad ways, and its outcomes. Accordingly, this research follows and extends previous research that examines the effect of reputation on important downstream variables when an individual customer is the unit of analysis (Shamma and Hassan, 2009; Walsh et al., 2014), and introduces an important fashion-related moderator of well-known paths from reputation to downstream variables - customer gender. Customer gender can be viewed as a proxy for customers' fashion involvement and represents an easy to use measure in retail practice (Bhaduri and Ha-Brookshire, 2015; Handa and Khare, 2013). In this context, Wolin (2003, p. 111) notes that gender \"is frequently used as segmentation strategy because it meets several requirements for successful implementation\", including gender is easily identifiable, and gender-based segments are accessible, measurable and responsive to marketing mix elements.\nTheoretical foundations and hypotheses: Issues examined in extant research include fashion retailers' use of the internet as a means to manage their reputations (Jones et al., 2009) and the role of corporate reputation for internationalizing retailers (Burt and Sparks, 2002). In a conceptual piece, Fan (2005) discusses retailers' ethical branding and its link to corporate reputation, whereas Borgerson et al. (2009), using a multi-method case study approach, explore the link between a retailer's reputation and its organizational identity. To date, though, surprisingly little research examines how corporate reputation affects customer outcomes in the retailing market or the boundary conditions of reputation-outcomes relationships (see Table I). Thus, a clear linkage between retailers' reputation and important customer outcomes as well as a consideration of gender effects is lacking in the literature.\nMethod: Pretest\nResults: Measurement model evaluation\nDiscussion: The purpose of this study was to investigate direct and indirect links between fashion retailers' reputation and relational outcomes, the mediational role of perceived risk and the moderational role of gender. Drawing on previous research, the commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing and the signaling theory, this research finds support for the effects of CBR on perceived risk and trust, of risk on trust and of trust on commitment. In particular, perceived risk and trust mediates the path from CBR to commitment. Furthermore, support is found for gender as a moderator of the relationships between CBR and trust. Specifically, CBR has a stronger positive effect on trust toward the fashion retailer for women than men. This research builds on and extends research that explores outcomes of CBR (Walsh et al., 2014) by relating CBR to generally neglected outcomes (i.e. risk, trust and commitment), by highlighting important contingencies and by examining an under-researched context - retailing.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Given the strategic importance of firm reputation because of its potential for value creation, extant reputation research focuses on favorable customer outcomes. This study proposes and tests a model that relates the customer-based corporate reputation (CBR) of fashion retailers to customer-perceived risk and two relational outcomes - trust and commitment. In addition, this study aims to test whether or not the hypothesized paths are equally strong for male and female shoppers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data for this study were collected through an online survey approach. Using a sample of more than 300 retail customers and structural equation modeling, the authors tested the hypotheses.\nFindings: Drawing on previous research, the commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing and signaling theory, the authors find support for direct and indirect links between retailers' reputation and relational outcomes, the intervening role of perceived risk and the partially moderational role of gender.\nPractical implications: The findings of this research suggest that a retailer's positive reputation can reduce customers' risk and engender trust, which in turn promotes customer commitment.\nOriginality/value: A growing number of examples suggests that retailers (specially fashion retailers) need to manage their reputation, which can come under threat in myriad ways, and its outcomes. However, so far, no individual study empirically investigated any of these reputation outcomes simultaneously or considered gender differences. Thus, the authors address an important research gap by examining the mechanism through which CBR affects relevant customer outcomes and by considering contextual factors.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Analysis of the wine consumer's behavior: an inferential statistics approach
|
[
"Consumer behaviour",
"Wine",
"Quality",
"Preferences"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Wine consumption is often associated with a moment of socialization and sharing of a particular event, even if some targets of ordinary wine consumers are present. Understanding the reasons that prompt the consumer to purchase wine and learning how the decision-making process of wine choice is formed are undoubtedly important aspects for the wine enterprises willing to adopt some efficient marketing strategies (Ellis and Caruana, 2018; Remaud and Forbes, 2012). The occasion of the purchase is a relevant aspect in determining the consumer preference. Indeed, the consumer himself/herself purchases different types of wines depending on the occasion (Sellers-Rubio and Nicolau-Gonzalbez, 2016). This shows that a consumer can belong to different targets of consumer groups, and therefore the analysis of the market segmentation appears to be complex and may entail some limitations concerning the results. According to Boncinelli et al. (2019), the consumers behave differently when purchasing a bottle of red wine according to distinct situations; the selection of a bottle of red wine is occasion specific. According to Dobele et al. (2018), purchase goal does affect the importance of product value indicators in the decision-making process. According to Pucci et al., place-of-origin influence on price-related product evaluations is country specific. The choice of a bottle of wine is not unrelated to quality and territoriality (Tempere et al., 2019; Mehta and Bhanja, 2018). However, the idea of quality itself is susceptible to several declinations: chemical-physical contents, exterior appearance, color, alcoholic strength, organoleptic factors and the brand's reputation. All these elements represent one aspect of the quality, but they are all elements that differ from one wine to another (Bruwer et al., 2011; Mueller et al., 2010). All of this must be linked to a high degree of information asymmetry to the disadvantage of the consumer. Indeed, the consumer who is not willing to purchase wine directly in the company is not given the possibility to test all the organoleptic parameters that represent subjective indicators of quality for him/her (Galati et al., 2019; Gil and Sanchez, 1997). Consequently, other aspects that are not directly dependent on the taste and the sensory quality of the product, such as brand, labeled indications, origin and territoriality and, last but not least, price, become paramount elements to the consumers when choosing a bottle of wine (Jovanovic et al., 2017). Indeed, price acquires importance on special occasions, whereas taste is important in any occasion of purchase. The level of prices and brand are relevant only in particular moments (Barber et al., 2012; Charters and Pettigrew, 2003). According to Sogari et al. (2018), combining sensory and consumer methods is becoming an important area of research, and wineries can benefit from this interaction.Wine market in Italy and Sicily\nMethodology: Binary logistic regression model\nResults: In the first model, we evaluated the influence of the gender, age, educational status and income variables on the outcome \"wine consumption\" that is a dichotomous variable. Due to this reason, we estimated a multivariate binary logistic regression model. In Table II, we reported the results of this model; in particular, we showed the regression coefficient (Coeff.), the exponential of coefficient (Exp B), the 95% confidence interval for Exp (B) and the significance (p-value).It can be noticed that the only variables that resulted to be statistically significant were gender (the male consumers are more than the female ones) and the educational status (greater years of schooling correspond to a greater probability of wine consumption). In the second model, we evaluated the influence of some variables, such as gender, age, educational status, income, brand, choice based on price, place of production, wine vintage, certification and additives on the outcome \"satisfaction of wine consumers\" that is an ordinal variable on five levels. Due to this reason, we estimated a multivariate ordinal logistic regression model. In Table III, we reported the results of this model; in particular, we showed the estimation of regression coefficient (estimation), the relative 95% confidence interval (95% CI), the standard error of estimation (SE) and the significance (p-value).The variables found to be significant are sex (the male consumers are more satisfied than the female ones), brand, chosen according to price, place of production, wine vintage and certification (most of the favorable opinions expressed with referring to these indicators entail higher levels of consumer satisfaction). In the third model (Table IV), we evaluated the influence of all the variables (gender, age, educational qualification, income, brand, choice based on price, place of production, wine aging, certification and presence of additives) on the outcome \"satisfaction of biological wine consumption.\" The variables found to be significant are income (subjects who receive higher incomes are more satisfied), certification and attention to the presence of additives.For the three multivariate models, the tests of goodness fit have been estimated and satisfactory results have been obtained, guaranteeing an adequate degree of fit to the data. The highly significant p-value of the full model, with respect to the intercept-only model, makes it possible to guarantee that the insertion of the explanatory variables significantly increases the informative and predictive quality of the model. Finally, the non-significance of the deviance test lead us to accept the hypothesis that there are no significant differences between the observed and the theoretical values derived from the estimation of the adopted logistic regression model. Finally, we identified the profile of the \"typical consumer\" that emerges from this sample: he/she has an average age ranged between 28 and 34 years (26.5 percent), he/she has a medium high level of education (79 percent), he/she has an income ranged between EUR20,000 and 30,000 (25.4 percent), he/she is an employee (55.8 percent), he/she drinks mostly red wine (60.9 percent) and spends, on average, between EUR5 and 7 (29 percent), he/she feels quite satisfied with the wine he/she drinks (33.6 percent), he/she gives quite importance to the brand (83.9 percent), to the place of production (68 percent), to the choice based on price (45.4 percent) and to the wine vintage (33.1 percent); moreover, he/she is very careful to the certification (62.3 percent) and to presence of additives (55 percent). Finally, he/she is more than satisfied with regard to the biological wine (49.5 percent).\nConclusion: The analysis carried out has shown that with reference to wine as a product, it is essential to focus on several attributes, among which there are of course quality and brand. This latter attribute has a key informative function toward the consumer, who will be able to develop a sense of recognizability and memory of a particular bottle of wine. Very often in the wine market, it happens that the name of the wine is improperly considered as a brand, and consequently, it is essential that the producer uses an own-label brand related to him/her. As regards wine as a product, even packaging plays a fundamental role by also performing a communicative function, since it is capable of conveying the product's conceptual characteristics, as well as the physical ones. Therefore, the relevant elements are the bottle, fitted with a cap, packaging and the label. Currently, the bottle design and the material of which it is composed have become crucial, since they communicate to the consumer a particular image. Due to these reasons, it is important to create new types of packaging, ever more complex and evolved over time and aimed at satisfying the consumers' request. As regards the price factor, it is necessary to jointly take into account three elements: the demand, which determines the highest price that the consumer is willing to pay; the competitors' choices; and third, the product's cost (Wolf et al., 2018; Caracciolo et al., 2015). In order to determine the price, in addition to the previously determined variables, it is extremely important to mainly take into account the production chain, which therefore integrates the various activities of grape production, vinification, wine conservation and bottling, thus outlining a very complex reality, at structural, organizational and technical level. In conclusion, we, therefore, point out that it is necessary to develop the entrepreneurship of wine companies. The entrepreneur has to orientate himself/herself toward production and the quality product through a more effective and efficient market orientation, by paying greater attention to the in-depth knowledge of consumers' preferences and behaviors that constantly change over time. Due to these reasons, it is essential to develop suitable skills and marketing professionalism for market analysis and at the level of strategic and operational planning, with the aim of creating a particular agreement with consumers. Especially in current times, competitive advantage is built on strong relationship with both intermediate and final customers and by offering unusual experiences, all made through a strong image attributable to the brand. Indeed, it is possible to state that brand, as well as its correct management, is the outcome resulting from a right knowledge of the market, and it is the fundamental element on which the whole business strategy, as well as the various marketing mix instruments such as product, price, distribution and communication, should be build (Barber et al., 2012). It is important to specify that adopting a both market and marketing orientation does not imply abandoning quality culture, but it represents that extra something for a company willing to be competitive within the market (Wiedmann et al., 2014; Crescimanno and Galati, 2014). Although field experiments are extremely useful for testing behavioral hypotheses, they are often limited by a small sample. Future research in this area might focus on the knowledge level of sustainable wine of the consumer. In relation to the knowledge of the characteristics of the wine, it is possible to estimate the willingness to pay a surplus for a wine produced with sustainable methods by the consumer and the possible level of price premium.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to attempt to outline the standard profile of the typical wine consumer, by identifying some relevant features that can influence his/her purchasing choices. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to identify the pre-eminent attributes for wine consumers and the different levels of importance that consumers ascribe to the attributes identified at the time of purchase.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In order to collect the necessary data, an ad hoc questionnaire was utilized. The questionnaire, which was anonymous, was directly distributed with the face-to-face method. In total, 1,500 copies of the questionnaire had been prepared. The data collected were processed through the use of the binary logistic regression model and the ordinal logistic regression model. The first binary logistic regression model allows to evaluate the dependence of the dichotomous variable on some potential predictors. The ordinal logistic regression model, known in literature as a cumulative model of proportional quotas, is generally appropriate for situations in which the ordinal response variable has discrete categories.\nFindings: The results returned by the elaboration of the binary logistic regression model refer to the influence of the variables sex, age, educational status and income on the \"wine consumption\" result, which is a dichotomous variable. The only variables found to be statistically significant are gender and educational status. The most significant variables that emerged from the implementation of the ordinary logistic regression model are gender, brand, choice based on price, place of production, harvest and certification. The analysis carried out has shown that with reference to wine as a product, it is essential to focus on several attributes, among which there are of course quality and brand.\nResearch limitations/implications: Although field experiments are extremely useful for testing behavioral hypotheses, they are often limited by a small sample. Future research in this area might focus on the knowledge level of sustainable wine of the consumer. In relation to the knowledge of the characteristics of the wine, it is possible to estimate the willingness to pay a surplus for a wine produced with sustainable methods by the consumer and the possible level of price premium.\nOriginality/value: The originality of the research lies mainly in a deeper knowledge of wine consumption trends. This information is useful to better define the wine market and to allow, especially to small businesses, to establish effective marketing strategies in relation to the real preferences of consumers and the decision-making process of choice put in place by them. In order to achieve this, the influence of all the variables on the \"satisfaction of wine consumption\" result was evaluated. The strength of this paper is the use of an adequate statistical approach based on the use of models, typical of inferential statistics, to reach conclusions that can be extended to the entire population of wine growers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Smart endogenous growth: cultural capital and the creative use of skills
|
[
"Skills",
"Economic growth",
"Cultural capital",
"Total factor productivity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Since recently, the word \"culture\" was hard to find in the economic literature. In the rare positive occurrences, the interest towards culture as a purposeful productive activity (e.g. art, theatre, cinema, music, literature, and so on) was practically almost absent, with notable though pretty isolated exceptions (e.g. the seminal and early contribution of Baumol and Bowen, 1966). More recently, interest in \"cultural\" themes has been rising, but, however, once again, sticking to a very broad and generic idea of culture, that is being identified, in turn, with such diverse fields as \"religion\", \"trust\", or even \"institutions\"[1]. This research trend reflects a sensitivity for the role of \"contextual\" characteristics such as customs and religions, ethnicity, geography, genetic endowments in determining economic outcomes, and it is somewhat natural to group such a heterogeneous bunch of factors under the all-encompassing label of \"culture\". And indeed, one can find authoritative examples of highly influential analyses of how these kinds of \"cultural\" factors have shaped up, and continue to shape, the social fabric of market capitalism (one for all, the notorious Weberian thesis on the role of the protestant ethic in the development of modern capitalism). Economically focused approaches of this kind abound, and cover many different issues of great interest (among others, Barro and Mc Cleary, 2003; Guiso et al., 2006; Spolaore and Wacziarg, 2009; Tabellini, 2010). But in all these examples, \"culture\" is really little more than a shorthand for \"contextual social factors\": Little attention, if any, is paid to less than generic meanings (or interpretations) of the term.\n2. How does cultural production matter in the economy?: The traditional economic view on cultural production refers to a pre-industrial conception of culture as a luxury good, accessible only by the wealthy, and mainly provided for by the State or by the politically and economically powerful to enhance their public image and social reputation - that is to say, a vision based upon public or private patronage. In such contexts, there was of course a recognition of the positive effects of culture in terms of the circulation of ideas, of social and civil progress, of expression of fundamental human values, and so on, and for this reason it was felt that culture could be considered a merit good, deserving to be supported through public transfers. The debate was thus concentrating on whether or not culture should receive public money, and to what extent, but it was practically outside of question that culture could be considered a major source of economic value, and not simply one of the many ways to spend money - and this may explain why economists devoted so little attention to the issue for such a long time. A natural consequence of this view is that, however, deserving, culture is a superfluous activity, i.e., something that the economy can afford mainly in phases of sustained economic growth. During slumps, on the contrary, cultural budgets are bound to be among the first to be cut, in that money spent on culture is not commonly thought to have a strong anti-cyclic impact on the level of economic activity.\n3. What counts for growth is the creative use of the educational capital: State-of-the-art analyses of economic growth tend to identify the accumulation of human capital as one of the main growth drivers. However, despite a practically unanimous theoretical support, empirical evidence that increases in educational attainments matter for growth is unexpectedly not so clear-cut[2]. There are many different attempts at explanation of this puzzle, mainly based on data or estimation techniques arguments[3]. All of them, however, take for granted that the right proxy to measure human capital is the so-called \"educational capital\" (i.e. the number of years of schooling), but we claim that this is not the case, since economic growth depends not only on the level of formal education but also on the level of cultural capital existing in a society. An important role is played by the complementarity between cultural capital and educational capital accumulation.\n4. An endogenous growth model for cultural capital: As highlighted by Sacco and Segre (2009), despite the growing literature aimed at explaining how cultural and artistic production actually feeds long-term economic growth, it is generally the case that in such analyses all important factors are grouped together, so that the causal relationships and interplays between them are not investigated in depth. In the attempt of filling this gap, the present paper examines the role of cultural capital in fostering economic growth within the framework traced by the New Growth Theory, and according to the lines set up in the previous discussion. At this regard - building upon Bucci and Segre (2011) - we present a theoretical model that describes how economic growth can be driven by the combination of the investments in human and cultural capital. Investments in human capital usually refer to the sole educational capital and are therefore measured in terms of the number of years of schooling; investments in cultural capital refer to the stock of a composite mix of assets corresponding to the six cultural domains presented in Figure 1 above. In the model we postulate that the growth of human capital is itself induced by the growth of cultural capital (in a sense that will be made more apparent in a moment)[5].\n5. Discussion and conclusions: Our theoretical model suggests that, in order to have a culture-driven endogenous growth model, the underlying economy must be a culture-intensive one: if D\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Despite the growing literature aimed at explaining how cultural and artistic production feeds economic growth, the causal relationships and interplays are not investigated in depth. In the attempt of filling this gap, the purpose of this paper is to examine arts, culture, and education within the framework of the New Growth Theory.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Starting from the analysis of how culture may be at the root of a specific engine of economic growth, the paper presents a theoretical endogenous growth model driven by the combination of the investments in human and cultural capital.\nFindings: The paper shows that cultural investment has a positive impact on economic growth and on the level of income provided that the economy is sufficiently \"culture-intensive\", and that this effect is further magnified the more total factor productivity (TFP) is sensitive to the stock of cultural capital.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper figures out the possibility of a cultural poverty trap as the cause of poor growth performance of some economies in the current post-industrial scenario. Culturally poor economies tend to grow slowly because of the lack of cultural exposure, which makes TFP poor since human capita is weakly inclined to be used in innovative, flexible ways.\nOriginality/value: The paper presents a new endogenous growth model. The paper argues that the available endogenous growth models fail to take into account the full set of relevant factors that make endogenous growth possible, and that the missing entry is cultural capital.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
#BlackLivesMatter and business: A way forward for equality and diversity in the workplace
|
[
"Workplace",
"Organizational culture",
"Black lives matter",
"Equality",
"Restorative justice"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nReview: For any student of political philosophy, they are taught there are three types of justice delivered to deserving criminals. Retributive justice, which is based on a punishment that may - or may not in some cases - fit the crime. Then there is distributive justice, which focuses instead on the rehabilitation of the offender, and will also include treatment rather than punishment. Finally, there is retributive justice which despite its relative newness as a term has been referred to and used on a small scale all the way back to bible times and beyond.\nClass action: The 2010s have seen a number of fast-growing movements seeking to establish equality and rights, given rapid momentum by activists using social media tools to spread their message and mobilize support across entire countries and continents. In 2017, there was the rapid rise of the #MeToo movement in response to high profile sexual harassment accusations and admissions from celebrities and those in authority. And perhaps, the most powerful movement to precede #MeToo also had a social media hashtag to distinguish it - #BlackLivesMatter (BLM).\nBusiness failures: The stinging accusation from the authors is that business has failed black people and minorities in the workplace, and simply put the evidence suggests that black lives have not mattered. Citing many different research studies in recent years, black people have been paid less, been under-represented in senior positions and been discriminated against when in competition with white counterparts for jobs. Attempts to bridge the divide - such as the much-debated \"Rooney rule\" in American football's National Football League - have in some eyes merely served to heighten the divide.\nHistory repeating?: Going back to the nineteenth century, black people in North America have been massively discriminated against. They were used as a \"commodity\" to harvest raw cotton, which at the time constituted half of all US exports. Since then, while slavery has been made illegal and various laws put in place to make the workplace fair, racism is still endemic. As well as the examples above, other studies have shown black people are more accepted if they change their appearance to white norms, or adapt their behavior to be more approachable (in others' eyes).\nActions speak louder than words: So, what can be done? Based on the tenets of restorative justice, the authors recommend three actions:\nComment: The article \"Do black lives really matter in the workplace? Restorative justice as a means to reclaim humanity\" by Opie and Roberts (2017) is that rare thing, both a passionate and rigorous piece of research. The clarity and vision for the work shines through the writing, but there is also significant science and robustness in the arguments. For any HR manager that has not imagined the impact of the BLM debate in their organization, this article provides serious food for thought.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.\nFindings: For any student of political philosophy, they are taught there are three types of justice delivered to deserving criminals. Retributive justice, which is based on a punishment that may - or may not in some cases - fit the crime. Then there is distributive justice, which focuses instead on the rehabilitation of the offender and will also include treatment rather than punishment. Finally, there is retributive justice which despite its relative newness as a term has been referred to and used on a small scale all the way back to biblical times and beyond.\nPractical implications: The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\nOriginality/value: The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Human resource management and performance at the Indian Railways
|
[
"High-performance work practices",
"Public sector",
"Indian Railways",
"Multiple performance indicators",
"Multiple stakeholders"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The Indian Railways (IR), the world's largest commercial public sector enterprise, has been researched for different aspects relating to business and management, such as its management style, human resource management, culture, employment relations (ERs), etc., in the recent past (e.g. Pereira, 2014; Pereira and Fontinha, 2016; Pereira and Malik, 2015, 2017; Pereira and Narayanamurthy, 2016). This paper contributes to this body of knowledge by identifying the multiple stakeholders and links high-performance work practices (HPWPs) to different indicators of performance in the IR.\nTheoretical background and research questions: The idea for a link between human resource practices and firm performance has been in existence for some time (e.g. Arthur, 1994; Pfeffer, 1994, 1995; Paauwe, 2004). The authors have argued that well thought long-term oriented, coherent HR practices that cover all core human resource areas can significantly improve the workforce's ability, motivation and opportunity to behave in ways that are consistent with the firm's goals and, hence, advance bottom line firm outcomes (Appelbaum et al., 2000; Becker et al., 1997; Budhwar et al., 2006). A number of labels have been utilised to connote these performance enhancing human resource practices (see Posthuma et al., 2013), the term adopted in the present work being \"HPWP\" that was introduced in the seminal work of Huselid (1995). Empirical evidence generally provides support to this assumption, finding links between HPWP and indices of organisational performance (e.g. Collins and Smith, 2006; Huselid, 1995; Sun et al., 2007; Wright et al., 2003). However, there has been inconsistency over the exact nature of systems and practices that compose HPWP (see e.g. Boselie et al., 2005; Patel et al., 2013; Sun et al., 2007). Our first research question explores a unique bundle in the context of the IR.\nMethod: This empirical study was conducted in 2009-2010 in the IR and was sponsored by a research grant from the Society for Human Resource Management (USA). IR has a state monopoly on India's rail transport (Ministry of Railways) and is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with approximately 1.7 million employees. IR is one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting 18 million passengers and more than two million tonnes of freight daily (IR budget reports, 2012-2013). The Railway Board, which is the organisation that manages the IR, gave permission and access to conduct the study. IR comprises 16 geographic zones covering all India, subdivided into 67 divisions. Given the dimension of this organisation, it was decided to conduct the study in six zones that would represent different geographical areas of India, namely Western Railways, Central Railways, North-Eastern Railways, North-Central Railways, South-Western Railways and South-Central Railways. These regions include 30 of the 67 divisions in the IR.\nResults: The qualitative data retrieved from the interviews have allowed us to reply to our research questions. Figure 1 helps to visually summarise these results.\nDiscussion and conclusions: This study focused on the case of IR, the world's largest public sector commercial employer. Our main aim was to investigate the way HPWPs are being implemented in this public sector organisation in an emerging market context, acknowledging the role of different stakeholders in decision making, as well as the different indicators used to measure performance.\nConclusions: The main conclusion of this study is that the set of practices identified in the IR is consistent with a high-performance work system (e.g. Huselid, 1995). The practices identified in this organisation are clearly structured and articulated creating an HPWS that aims to develop employee commitment and ultimately performance. These practices are influenced by the voices of multiple stakeholders, not only including the traditionally involved parties such as managers and employees represented by trade unions, but also different government stakeholders, political parties and members of society (as customers). The existence of multiple stakeholders in decision making is also associated with different measures of performance, including financial and non-financial indicators, the latest being strongly context specific.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: High-performance work practices (HPWPs) have been well documented within private organisations in developed country economies. Such practices, however, remain under-investigated in the public sector and in emerging economies. The purpose of this paper is to work towards filling this void, by empirically evaluating HPWP within an Indian public sector undertaking (PSU), also the world's largest commercial public sector employer: the Indian Railways (IR).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors investigate whether the practices implemented in this organisation are consistent with the idea of HPWPs, and analyse how they are influenced by different stakeholders and ultimately associated with different indicators of organisational performance. The authors focused on six railway zones and interviewed a total of 62 HR practitioners.\nFindings: The results show that most practices implemented are aligned with the idea of HPWPs, despite the existence of context-specific unique practices. Furthermore, the authors identify the influence of multiple stakeholders in decision making concerning different practices. The authors additionally found that the measurement of performance goes beyond financial indicators and several context-specific non-financial indicators are identified and their social importance is reiterated.\nOriginality/value: Theoretically, this paper utilises and contributes to the resource-based view of firms by identifying a distinctive bundle of competencies in human resources through HPWS in the IR.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The BALIS interlibrary loan system: a new network in Beijing
|
[
"Interlending",
"Libraries",
"China"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. A brief introduction to BALIS: Interlibrary loan (ILL) is one of the main ways of resource sharing in today's information era. In China there are many ILL organizations that operate at different levels geographically and organizationally. In Beijing, there is a local university resource sharing organization, the Beijing Academic Library and Information System (BALIS) (http://balis.ruc.edu.cn, http://balis.ruc.edu.cn/index.html, http://202.112.118.46/ywcdwz/index.html, http://59.64.144.53:8080/union/index.jsp), which is a service sponsored by the Library Committee of Beijing Higher Education and launched in November, 2007. There are five centers in BALIS each of which operates from a central library:1. A document delivery center for articles/non-returnables: central library at Renmin University of China.2. An interlibrary lending center for books/returnables: - central library at Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications.3. A resource coordination center: central library at Beijing Normal University.4. A training center: central library at Capital Normal University.5. A collaborative information service center: central library at the University of Science and Technology Beijing.Thus BALIS ILL operates from two centers, one for returnables and one for non-returnables and it has been operational since April 1, 2008.\n2. BALIS ILL management mechanism: The core of the ILL service lies is the relationship between the lender and the borrower. BALIS ILL services are operated with a combination of a centralized gateway platform and distributed services. The platform installed at its central library can be accessed by member libraries and patrons via the web. All management and services are run from the ILL platform.2.1 Central library -- the management core of the organization\n3. Service process of BALIS ILL: Patrons can make an ILL request in two ways. The first is by going to the library directly and completing a hardcopy form at the ILL desk. The second is by making a request online. There are two platform systems for BALIS ILL: for returnables and for non-returnables. However, the processing of these is similar. Patrons:* visit the ILL system and register online;* search the catalog for item information and its location;* submit a request;* request processing;* have the item delivered;* receive the item; and* return the material item (this step is not necessary for non-returnables).This process is shown in Figure 3. For returnable items the ILL desk will notify the patron when it arrives. The patron then checks the item out with their ID. For a document delivered as an electronic copy, the patron will find it in their e-mail.\n4. The development of BALIS ILL services: Services have developed rapidly in the past two years. There were 68 member libraries in the center for returnables by November 2009, and 57 in the non-returnables center. Registered patrons and requests have increased dramatically. The number of books delivered monthly has increased from 74 to 202. Articles delivered have increased from 226 to 742 per month. Details are shown in Table I.\n5. Problems encountered: As a new ILL service, BALIS has encountered several problems; some of which are management problems and some are to do with platform functions. These are as follows.5.1 A lack of union regulations\n6. Development strategy: 6.1 Multiple delivery methods\n7. Conclusions: BALIS ILL has developed rapidly in the past two years but has also encountered some problems. However we believe that ILL is the most practical way for resource sharing in China today especially if an efficient and effective service can be provided.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to describe a new local interlibrary loan (ILL) system between universities in Beijing, China.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper provides a descriptive analysis of the BALIS ILL system.\nFindings: - The paper finds that BALIS ILL has developed rapidly in the past two years but there are still some problems to solve.\nOriginality/value: - This paper will be relevant to librarians interested in resource sharing in China.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Characters' persuasion effects in advergaming: Role of brand trust, product involvement, and trust propensity
|
[
"Product involvement",
"Purchase intentions",
"Brand trust",
"Advergames",
"Game character",
"Trust propensity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Advergames are an increasingly popular way to market products, raise brand awareness (Cauberghe and De Pelsmacker, 2010; Gross, 2010), create positive brand experience and brand attitudes (Vashisht and Sreejesh, 2017), and achieve viral status (Chen and Lee, 2014). Advergames are socially interactive game components that take the advantage of the popularity of video games, which drew $36bn of consumer spending in 2017, an 18 percent rise over 2016 according to the Entertainment Software Association. Accordingly, advertising expenditure in video game is expected to increase to $1.9bn in 2021 from $1.4bn in 2017 (Marketingcharts.com, 2018).\nLiterature review: Effects of virtual characters on the perception of brand trust\nProduct involvement as moderating congruency effects: When consumers are highly involved with products or advertisements, central cues such as argument quality, product attributes or product benefits will be most persuasive (Laurent and Kapferer, 1985; MacInnis and Stayman, 1993). In contrast, when consumers lack product involvement, they devote less cognitive effort to evaluate product information and rely more on simple heuristic cues such as message source or presentation style (Petty et al., 1983). Although advertisements are more effective when consumers focus and elaborate on information, those who lack involvement will be persuaded by peripheral cues such as ad execution and source (Buda and Zhang, 2000; Gordon et al., 1998). To attract and persuade highly involved consumers, message sources must be related to the nature of the product; if not, source becomes a peripheral cue (Kang and Herr, 2006). Consequently, highly involved consumers can react negatively to product-irrelevant yet affectively positive source cues.\nMethod: Stimuli design and experimental procedure\nResults: Effects of character presence and the mediator\nDiscussion: This study shows that game characters have overall persuasive effects and that brand trust mediates the relationship between characters and purchase intentions. Indeed, characters are effective in both advergaming and online retailing, but with a boundary condition; they should evoke trust perceptions to be persuasive (e.g. Keeling et al., 2010; Liew et al., 2017).\nLimitations and future research: First, we used a fictitious brand in the stimulus game. However, if well-known brands signal trust and certainty, characters could be less effective, even for distrustful consumers. Therefore, further studies should consider the joint effects of brand familiarity and trust propensity. Second, the advergame character used for this study was male, although gender may affect avatar effectiveness (e.g. Lee, 2007; Nowak and Rauh, 2005). For example, one study showed that people tend to prefer avatars matching their own gender (Nowak and Rauh 2005). In another study, participants exhibited stronger team affiliation when the character and the partner were of the same gender, even though participants' own gender mismatched that gender (Lee, 2007). Therefore, future advergaming studies should consider effects of character identities (e.g. gender, ages and degrees of anthropomorphism) and players' psychological characteristics (e.g. introvert vs extrovert).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore advergaming to identify how users respond to characters in terms of forming brand trust and purchase intentions. The study shows that users will tend to trust brands when characters are congruent with product type and trust propensity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In a 2x2x2 factorial design, the character presence/absence condition and product type (high vs low involvement) are between-subject, manipulated and dichotomous variables. Trust propensity is a measured, continuous variable.\nFindings: Findings indicate that character presence contributes to brand trust, leading to higher purchase intentions. Character presence is more effective for promoting products of low involvement; character absence is more effective for promoting products of high involvement. Moreover, in the low-involvement product condition, consumers who have low-trust propensity are more persuaded by characters. In the high-involvement product condition, consumers who have high or low-trust propensity respond similarly to both character presence and absence.\nOriginality/value: Although characters potentially affect how gamers react to online gaming, surprisingly few studies have attempted to identify how the characters and their interactions influence consumers' emotions and behaviors in advergaming contexts. The current study fills the gap by focusing on the effects of characters and the interactions among other influences related to characters. This study makes new theoretical and practical contributions to the literature by showing that brand trust plays a mediating role and demonstrates that game characters can stimulate purchase intentions more persuasively depending on gamers' trust propensity and involvement in the advertised products. The findings contribute to theory regarding congruency effects of game characters and the theory of brand trust.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Managing electronic information: an ethics perspective
|
[
"Ethics",
"Information management",
"Information systems"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Information is power and its magnitude is gauged by its impact in various situations. The computer technology used for generating electronic information (EI) has ethical implications as do the functions of originating, processing, storing, distributing and using the data and information. Moreover, each function carries responsibilities for those who perform and manage them, affecting the lives and work of people - the ethical dimension.A great deal of attention has focused on employee practices such as internet use, perhaps because of legal concerns. However, do the same concerns extend to the other EI activities noted above? Perhaps, the methods of collecting data lack the same legal scrutiny, but they do require decisions having ethical overtones. Further, the ethical considerations should address not only the behavior, but also the intent, judgment, the consequences and the decision maker's own values. The authors examine the full spectrum of EI management activities, developing a practical analytical framework and recommendations for managers.\nImportance of the study: EI is the lifeblood of the effective functioning organization today. While the benefits of EI are known and harvested universally, the consequences of mishandling and misusing information can be severely damaging and costly to an organization. Unlike other major organizational resources, information has wings. Once generated it is difficult if not impossible to suppress. Thus, it must be handled with utmost care. The ordinary user often assumes that information is reliable and trusts in the sources as authentic. Yet, the potential for errors - or misbehavior, as chronicled in numerous reports over the past decade, is virtually unbounded. This vulnerability can be reduced and even avoided by vigilant attention and various controls. Technical measures are necessary and together with ethical safeguards reinforce management's efforts and build trust in EI activities. Moreover, ethics' focus is proactive, focusing on self-direction, prevention, improvement and success rather than on defensive controls and surveillance alone (Paine, 1994).Ethics can only thrive in an atmosphere of trust, which in turn emanates from managers' own value systems, as Walton (1988) suggests. Jennings (2002) notes further that trust is earned. With respect to EI activities, she emphasizes that electronic business transactions place a greater premium on trust than ever before. While Jennings' focus is on external commerce, the same observation applies to internal communications. Thus, considering how a breach of trust in just a single business transaction can damage a firm, it is difficult to overemphasize the importance of ethics in EI.\nObjectives: The paper addresses the contemporary and very important area of EI management - the ethical dimension and implications. Specifically, this paper aims to:* analyze EI activities and management practices, the ethical dilemmas and implications;* relate effectiveness in EI ethics activities in the context of organizational ethics policy and practice; and* suggest a framework for handling ethical dilemmas in managing the major EI activities.\nElectronic information (EI): an ethical perspective: Having observed in prior research how organizations apply their ethics codes, it is clear that EI practices coincide with other major organization activities. However, this area is also distinct from, for example, staffing, because it involves every member who originates, collects, processes, presents and uses EI. Thus, managing EI extends well beyond the chief information officer (CIO) and staff to virtually all organization managers. However, given that information systems values and ethics permeate the entire organization, the CIO must be a key participant in organizational strategic decision making (Oz, 1992, 2001; Petrovic-Lazarevic and Sohal, 2004). This includes decisions about ethics policy and application as well.IS technology is a contemporary area where a proactive approach is useful. Mason (1986) identified the principal information age ethical issues as privacy, accuracy, property and accessibility. In this context, are the IS policies and subsequent operating decisions, as well as larger corporate values that enable members to effectively manage these issues. For instance, prospective investors may be either attracted or repelled by the way a company protects its proprietary information or the validity of its web information.Every major decision has an ethical dimension. As defined elsewhere by the authors, ethics denotes the behavior standards expected by a group, organization or society and serves as a guide for individual and collective actions across the entire spectrum of human behavior (von der Embse and Desai, 2006). It is concerned with the human effects and consequences of behavior. In the realm of EI, there are at least six areas of activity having ethical implications. These are developed in Table II. Often, there are legal as well as ethical ramifications. For example, Pillsbury was sued for invasion of privacy for monitoring an employee's e-mail. In this precedent-setting case, the employee, Smyth, was fired after the company found that he had used the company e-mail system for what were described as defamatory remarks about his supervisor (Smyth v. Pillsbury Co., 1996, E. Dist. PA) While the courts ruled for the company, the ethical question of electronic communication remained.As demonstrated in the above and other instances, every manager, regardless of level and function, is an EI manager as well. Such cases also exemplify how the ethical, legal and moral dimensions interface. For example, electronic communication surveillance at work, though generally legal, gives rise to ethical questions concerning trusting and respecting employees as persons, while also raising moral issues for managers whose belief systems find the practice repulsive (von der Embse and Desai, 2006).Further evidence of EI ethics' priority is shown in studies such as KPMG's of observed unethical behavior at work. Among several misconduct areas, improprieties in handling confidential information and privacy rights violations were near the top in percentage of employees having observed them (Organizational Integrity Survey, KPMG LLP, 2000). Increasingly, professional ethics codes are addressing EI security as well. Among the leading organizations is the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (code of ethics, www.acm.org/constitution/code) among its stated purposes is to serve as a guide for ethical decision making among its professional members. Perhaps, most indicative of EI's importance in today's organization is the magnitude of its learning investment in the area. The American Society of Training and Development's annual survey of business and industry has shown that, among 12 learning areas reported, IT and systems content ranks consistently among the top three in emphasis (Rivera and Andrew, 2006). While the training focuses mainly on competence-building, the learning platform today is likely to incorporate cultural, strategic and ethical considerations as well.\nEthics safeguards and EI management: The authors' study on the influence of ethical safeguards on how and how well ethics codes and policies are applied in practice offers a vantage point for examining EI communication. In a survey of mid- and first-level managers in six industries, subjects were asked to describe organization practices in 11 areas of ethics policy application. Respondent firms were compared according to high and low numbers of ethical safeguards: an ethics code, a credo or values statement, written ethics policies - general and specific, ethics training and development, ready access to ethics guidelines at all levels, and a cohesive, supportive ethical culture. The 11 ethical activity areas are those identified in Table I, with EI/communication listed first and highlighted. To provide the larger organizational picture, we also include the ten other areas in Table I, as reported in and adapted from von der Embse et al. (2004).While beyond our present scope to analyze the full set of data, it is instructive to note the consistency of results across all areas, with seven of the 11 areas significant well beyond the 0.01 level, strongly reinforcing the observation that ethics safeguards do make a substantial difference in how well the codes and policies are applied in everyday practices (von der Embse et al., 2004). Concerning EI communication, and using a Likert-type scale, we asked those surveyed to describe their organization's practices in the following: enforcing their policies on web/internet access; the number of observed policy violations the past month; prohibition on use of e-mail for other than company business; employees' latitude in using their judgment in their internet and intranet communications; and the organizations electronic barriers - firewalls - to protect confidential information and break-ins.Results, as noted, closely parallel those in other activity areas, reinforcing the view that EI ethics need to be addressed in the context of the organization's policies and practices. This extends to specific EI activities as well, where the ramifications of misbehavior - or upright behavior - are magnified. In the following section, we analyze six of these major activity areas, summarized in Table II.\nA framework for assessing major electronic information activities: EI can be defined as information that has been generated, stored, maintained, distributed, and used using computer technology. Subsequently, computer technology used for generating EI has ethical implications. In general, information is generated by processing data in the context of a problem. This implies that accuracy of information is dependent on the data. There can be a number of reasons for the data to be in error - data entry error, invalid source of data, improper methods used in collecting data, and the incorrect logic used in processing data. It is the responsibility of individuals to ensure that such errors do not occur. Since, EI can be stored in a computer and be available for others using network technology it is vulnerable to its improper access. In order to protect it from improper access, the organization's management must provide necessary measures such as proper firewalls and software controls. In this regard the ethics are of utmost importance. For example, if management employs loose software controls and does not provide sufficient firewall technology to protect individual information in order save money then it implies that management, by omission, has acted unethically. Providing sufficient controls and firewalls to protect and secure individual information should not be viewed as a mere expense but as a display of ethical obligation to all the firm's stakeholders (Desai et al., 2002).Table II shows the activities involved in the generation of EI. Attention to ethics should be given during each activity, considering too that the activities are interdependent and thus careless behavior in one area reverberates in others. For example, inattention to confidentiality in data collection erodes the integrity of the process, no matter how ethically the other tasks are performed.What data to collect?\nConclusion: In conclusion, the study and assessment of ethics in EI supports the belief that ethical practices in this area impact the entire organization. Further, IS management operates within the larger organization context and the ethical quality of its actions reflects that of the organization culture. While IS professionals dedicate themselves to behaving responsibly and ethically, if the climate is corrupted by misbehavior elsewhere, they may succumb to the pressures of expediency imposed upon them, regardless how principled they may be. Supports - safeguards - are essential for guiding and reinforcing their worthy intentions.The implications for organizations are clear and replete with caveats. On the positive side, though, the organization that invests in ethics safeguards provides the needed supports and reaps substantial returns in employee morale, performance and ultimately, the bottom line - profits. In this area of EI management, the atmosphere of trust that results lightens the burden for all involved. For the staff, it alleviates the stressfulness of having constant challenges to one's integrity. This enables them to focus their energy more completely on the task at hand and on their mission.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper addresses the contemporary and very important area of electronic information (EI) management - the ethical dimension and implications. Specifically, this paper aims to analyze EI activities and management practices, the ethical dilemmas and implications; to relate effectiveness in EI ethics activities in the context of organizational ethics policy and practice, and to suggest a framework for handling ethical dilemmas in managing the major EI activities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A survey of mid- and first-level managers in six industries was conducted. Subjects were asked to describe organization practices in 11 areas of ethics policy application. Respondent firms were compared according to high and low numbers of ethical safeguards: an ethics code, a credo or values statement, written ethics policies - general and specific, ethics training and development, ready access to ethics guidelines at all levels, and a cohesive, supportive ethical culture.\nFindings: - EI ethics need to be addressed in the context of the organization's policies and practices. This extends to specific EI activities as well, where the ramifications of misbehavior - or upright behavior - are magnified.\nPractical implications: - The organization that invests in ethics safeguards provides the needed supports and reaps substantial returns in employee morale, performance and ultimately, the bottom line - profits. In this area of EI management, the atmosphere of trust that results lightens the burden for all involved.\nOriginality/value: - This research has a value that is relevant to the current issues related to the privacy and security of information.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Corporate efficiency in the UK: a stochastic frontier analysis
|
[
"Market imperfection",
"Agency cost",
"Asymmetric information",
"Corporate efficiency",
"Maximum likelihood",
"Stochastic frontier"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The classical Modigliani and Miller (1958) approach to financial policy concluded that the financial structure of a firm is irrelevant to both its value and operating decisions. However, recent literature holds a number of market imperfections arising from asymmetric information and conflict of interests among various stakeholders responsible for invalidating this traditional view and henceforth financial structure of a firm and its investment decision becomes interdependent. The limited liability of owners-managers in a levered firm induce them to choose too risky projects expecting that their shareholders will get larger benefits if they turn out to be profitable and losses will be inflicted on to debt holders in case of failure (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). Anticipating such behavior, debt holders demand a premium on debt or bond covenants restricting the firm's future use of debt. Underinvestment may also be caused by a moral hazard problem when shareholders have an incentive to abandon profitable investment projects due to the wealth transfer from shareholders to debt holders that occurs whenever the net present value (NPV) of the project is lower than the amount of debt issued (Myers, 1977). Informational asymmetry in the credit market also does not allow lenders to price discriminate between good and bad borrowers in loan contracts, and as a result, a fraction of good investment projects which are not profitable enough to compensate for the excessively high cost of external financing face credit rationing (Stiglitz and Weiss, 1981). A firm's equity financing can also suffer from informational asymmetry problems when the prospective shareholders do not have enough information about the firm value and its projects (Myers and Majluf, 1984). To cover their potential losses from the adverse selection problem, the prospective shareholders demand a risk premium to purchase the shares of all firms considering the risk of an average investment project. The existing shareholders lose more if the investment projects are undertaken with this costly funding and hence prefer to abandon them. In short, the problems of asymmetric information in the capital market raises the cost of issuing new debt or equity limiting firms' ability or willingness to undertake good investment projects and leads to underinvestment.\n2. Literature Review: Tests of the agency costs hypothesis typically are based on regressions of measures of firm performance on the equity capital ratio or other indicators of leverage plus some control variables, but the results are inconclusive due to the difficulty in defining a measure of performance close to the theoretical definition of agency costs. For example, Himmelberg et al. (1999) use Tobin's Q, Mehran (1995) uses return on asset and Tobin's Q as well, Cole and Mehran (1998) use stock market price, Ang et al. (2000) use expense ratio and asset utilization ratio, Florackis and Ozkan (2009) use asset turnover ratio and selling, general and administrative expense ratio as proxies for firm performance. The tests using these traditional measures of firm performance based on financial ratios and stock market values may be confounded by factors that are unrelated to agency costs due to the measurement problem mentioned earlier. Also, the empirical strategies used in these studies do not allow calculating the extent of firms' performance shortfall due to agency costs by setting a separate benchmark for each of them. Ang et al. (2000) provide an estimate of such shortfall in small corporations where 100 percent manager-owned firms constitute the zero agency cost benchmark and any deviations of expense and efficiency ratios from this benchmark measures the agency cost. But there is no obvious benchmark like that for large firms against which a firm's actual value can be judged as 100 percent manager ownership is quite improbable in large corporations.\n3. Methodology: To estimate firm efficiency, a set of firms is considered each of which faces the same opportunity set. Obviously due to diverse firm-specific characteristics such as managerial strengths, technical efficiency and investment choices, different firms tend to avail this opportunity set in different ways and therefore create different firm values. The logic implies that firms with higher valuations are the ones generating more value per unit of assets and consequently, the market perceives them to be the more efficient firms and vice versa. By varying the opportunity set and firm characteristics in a sample of any combination of firms, an optimal value function or their frontier function can be estimated. The intuition behind the SFA is that a point on the frontier represents the maximum value that a given firm can obtain given its fundamentals and no inefficiencies and each firm's shortfall from the frontier is an approximate indicator of the perceived firm inefficiency by the market. The smaller the shortfall from the frontier, the higher will be the efficiency. Before estimating the optimal value or the frontier, three important points must be noted as suggested by Nguyen and Swanson (2009).\n4. Model specification: 4.1 Market value frontier\n5. Data: We have collected data from the Worldscope Database currently owned by Thomson Reuters which describes the database as the financial industry's premier resource of most comprehensive and accurate financial data on public companies resided outside of the USA[4]. Worldscope is available through a variety of Thomson Financial software products, including Thomson One products, Datastream and Quantitative Analytics. For this study, the data were collected through Datastream.\n6. Empirical results: 6.1 Market value frontier\n7. Conclusion: Although agency-theoretic models are usually formulated in terms of value rather than profit maximization, in this study both of the methods have been utilized considering that shortfall of firms' actual value from their potential due to agency costs can be proportional to the similar shortfall in their accounting profits or the other way round. Estimations of the two stochastic frontier models give quite interesting results and are in line with the theories and previous studies on agency cost as well. In this study, employing Battese and Coelli (1995) model, long-run corporate efficiency is predicted from the modern approach focussing on wealth or value maximization and the short-run corporate efficiency is predicted from the traditional approach focussing on earning maximum profit as inverse proxies of total agency cost to bring in the dynamics of the principal agent conflict.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Using a panel of 1,122 UK firms listed on the London Stock Exchange over the period of 1981-2009, corporate efficiencies are predicted in this paper as inverse proxies of agency cost and the agency cost hypotheses are tested. The paper aims to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Stochastic frontier analysis is used to estimate corporate efficiency of firms, but from two different perspectives. The long-run and short-run corporate efficiencies are predicted focussing on modern approach of value maximization and traditional approach of profit maximization, respectively.\nFindings: The estimation results reveal that, an average firm in the sample achieves 74.5 percent of its best performing peer's market value and 86.6 percent of its best performing peer's profit and both of them are highly significant in the analysis. The long-run market value efficiency supports the agency cost of outside equity and the short-run profit efficiency supports the agency cost of outside debt hypothesis. Also there is a positive rank correlation between these two efficiencies which confirms that an average firm in the UK suffers from inefficiency or agency conflicts to a certain extent, no matter whether the firm is driven by short-run or long-run growth perspectives.\nResearch limitations/implications: The predicted broad measures of agency costs in the paper have wider implications in enhancing the understanding of the UK firms' corporate performance especially when they operate under a relatively free and market based governance and financial system.\nOriginality/value: The work is distinguished by the large panel of UK firms and a long period of time that is considered. Emphasizing on the empirical implications of the distinctions between short-run and long-run efficiency is also novel.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Interview with Lyssa Barber, Managing Consultant
|
[
"Recruitment",
"Personal development",
"Career development; Recession"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Lyssa Barber is Managing Consultant and Head of Private Wealth Management at specialist financial recruitment company Allemby Hunt.\nCould you tell us a little about your professional background and how you came to work in recruitment?: I fell into recruitment, as many people do. It is very rare that you meet someone who left university and said - \"right, I'm going to be a head-hunter!\" I was originally planning to be a teacher. After completing my postgrad teaching qualifications and whilst I looked for a new teaching role, I ended up in IT. I then moved into IT recruitment in the middle of the Dot Com boom. When that bubble burst I moved into finance and I have been specialising in wealth management since 2002. I have very much been in the executive search space since then and I joined Allemby Hunt in July to spearhead the growth of their wealth management practice.\nHas anything changed in the recruitment industry during the current recession?: Yes, I think we have become a lot more risk averse, both on the clients' and candidates' side. Processes are taking a lot longer as a consequence. I would not necessarily say there is a lot more due diligence being undertaken - I still see episodes where individuals are hired and the right kind of reference checking has not been done - but even to get a client to actually pull things together to hire somebody can be quite difficult. To get an individual of a senior level who is headhunted to put their head above the parapet - and even engage - is much harder than it used to be because everybody is very insecure about what the future might hold, what the mere appearance of \"infidelity\", if you like, might mean for them professionally.\nHow important is the actual hiring process in terms of \"a means to an end\": I think it is very important. I have worked for clients who have a process that is really bought into across the board - from mid-level hiring managers right up to the senior people who rubber stamp things at the final hurdle. You need to have everybody singing from the same hymn sheet; everybody understands that hiring is key and that it is at the top of the agenda, whereas in some firms how that filters down is not always reflected. There is not always time for the hiring manager to see candidates and so we cannot move the process forward. In institutions where everybody understands the validity and importance of the hiring process their hiring is a great deal more efficient. They turn things around more quickly, they tend to be more successful in hiring the candidates that they want and there are fewer instances where an individual loses patience and eventually goes to another institution.\nWhat is the advantage of using a recruitment company over advertising through the usual channels?: Several-fold. A big one is that we do all of the first round screening. For example, if you place an advert you will get a significant proportion of responses that are completely irrelevant, that are not even close to the job description. I don't know why that happens, but there are an awful lot of people who will apply for just about anything. A recruitment firm can manage that for you. Speaking specifically now about executive search firms, they will approach a project from a completely different standpoint. They take a brief of exactly what you want to hire and then go out and map the universe of institutions where the right individuals may work. They look specifically at the individuals who are executing the role that you want to appoint for and then actually take market checks on them before even approaching them. You get a very tailored, very conservative and consultative approach which is much more likely to result in a successful hire without having to wade through possibly hundreds of responses for a role, which would usually fall to someone in Human Resources - taking up their time when they clearly have other things to be doing. It takes this burden away from the institution. When it comes down to negotiation you put yourself in a much stronger position. Both the client and the candidate benefit here. The consultant's unique perspective of both the candidate's and client's position when it comes to salary removes the possibility of under-offering. The moment someone is offered too little you lose a significant proportion of goodwill. It is this goodwill that you need to get people over the line. A good recruitment consultant will always clarify with individuals exactly what their expectations are. A client is advised of this in order that they can make an offer at the right level and this leads to a situation where everyone feels that they have won. The candidate gets a great offer and the client often has not had to go to the ceiling that they want to pay. That is how we differentiate ourselves. Without this there are a number of risk factors which are not mitigated.\nHow is an effective relationship between a recruitment company and client maintained?: Relationship management is not focused on nearly enough. A lot of recruitment firms have quite transient relationships with their clients and have not had the opportunity to build up long-term relationships.A good, consultative relationship allows us much greater insight into the culture, the workings, the aspirations of the firm that we are representing. Therefore when we are in the market the conversations had with high-level individuals are that much more compelling. You are far more likely to get somebody interested if you know your market, if you know your client really well and if you can answer all of those somewhat difficult questions that are going to add granularity to an opportunity. The client benefits as the net result of this is that they have greater access to individuals who are not on the market, who are going to be much more motivated to have a discussion and are thus much more likely to take up an offer to join them.In terms of maintaining a relationship, communication is often the first thing that goes. You do not get timely responses to e-mails or messages and that is the first way to damage a good relationship. Communication has to be kept going. The worst thing is the world is to be reactive.\nAre major hires often missed?: Yes, I think this happens everywhere. There is no hard and fast rule as to why that happens but my view is this: Human Resources have a significant responsibility to the firm that they work for to provide human resource services; they have a very demanding role even before you add in responsibility for hiring. If HR appoints the right recruitment firm it can effectively offload the hiring to a trusted external supplier. It is a recruitment firm's job to manage the hiring process in a timely and effective way. There is a much reduced chance of somebody being approached by another firm or feeling neglected as no one has told them what is happening, etc. than if you have someone internal who is over-stretched.\nWhat do you think the trends will be for both the recruitment industry itself and its service users in the next decade?: I think we will see a lot of consolidation, certainly in financial services. Since 2008 when investment banking and capital markets took such a huge hammering we have seen a lot of recruitment firms branch out into areas that were perceived as somewhat less affected which included wealth management. I will be interested to see how many off those firms are still around in three to five years' time.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to provide an interview Lyssa Barber, Managing Consultant and Head of Private Wealth Management at specialist financial recruitment company Allemby Hunt\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The interview is conducted by an independent interviewer.\nFindings: - Lyssa Barber is Managing Consultant and Head of Private Wealth Management at specialist financial recruitment company Allemby Hunt. She has extensive experience and specialises in wealth and investment management recruitment.\nPractical implications: - Lyssa Barber explains the recruitment process and highlights the potential problems arising with senior management recruitment in times of economic downturn.\nOriginality/value: - Recruitment consultancy can considerable relieve the pressure on busy Human Resource departments.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Consumer decision making when purchasing eco-friendly apparel
|
[
"Sustainability",
"Apparel",
"Organic",
"Conjoint analysis",
"Discrete choice",
"Made In America"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In recent years, the topic of organic apparel has been widely discussed (Ellis et al., 2012; Peterson et al., 2012). The topic has garnered great interest from researchers, given the increased presence of \"green consumers\" within the marketplace. Green consumers have a favourable interest in products that are organic, energy efficient or have biodegradable packaging, and maintain environmentally friendly consumption practices (Luzio and Lemke, 2013). Moreover, as consumers have become more sophisticated and environmentally conscious, they expect companies to be more environmentally friendly. According to Mintel (2012) 64 per cent of US consumers expect companies to be more \"green\" and environmentally conscious. With this in mind, the marketplace has reacted and several retailers have begun offering organic options to consumers, including organic apparel.\nLiterature review: Consumer decision making\nMethodology: The present study was conducted at a large South-eastern US research intensive university. In total, 181 students were surveyed. The mean age was 20.3 years with a standard deviation of 1.5 years. 88 per cent of the participants were female and 12 per cent were male. Several ethnic groups were represented. Caucasians made up 83 per cent of the sample followed by Asian (6 per cent), African-American (4 per cent), Hispanic (2 per cent) and finally other (5 per cent). The participants were fairly evenly divided among freshmen (27 per cent), sophomores (24 per cent), juniors (26 per cent) and seniors (23 per cent). The majority of students worked part time (64 per cent), 31 per cent were not working and 5 per cent were working full time. Participants' disposable income ranged from less than $100 to more than $400 per month.\nFindings and discussion: Attribute importance\nImplications and limitations: The results of this study provide insight into the trade-offs that consumers make when purchasing organic apparel. Five attributes were examined: sustainable, price, production, technology, and fabric. Sustainable, price, and production and were the most important attributes. Technology and fabric were very small effects. The T-shirt that survey respondents were most willing to purchase was eco-friendly with a price of $15, Made In America with wrinkle-free technology and cotton jersey knit fabric. In comparing the probabilities of purchasing T-shirts with the labels of eco-friendly, organic, and non-organic, while holding the other attributes at the most preferred levels, respondents were more willing to purchase eco-friendly T-shirts. In comparing T-shirts Made In America and Imported, while holding the other attribute levels at the most preferred levels, the T-shirt Made In America was more likely to be purchased. Finally, respondents were most willing to purchase a T-shirt at a price point of $15 holding the levels of all other attributes at the most preferred levels.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the realistic trade-offs young consumers make when purchasing organic T-shirts.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A full profile discrete choice design was used. The data were analysed using a multinomial logit model and desirability indices.\nFindings: Price was the most important attribute to consumers followed by the place of production and then sustainability. Consumers were most willing to purchase T-shirts that are eco-friendly, Made In America, made from wrinkle-free technology and cotton jersey knit fabric, and have a price of $15. Although consumers were most willing to pay $15, some were still willing to pay $25 or even $35 for the same eco-friendly T-shirt.\nPractical implications: Consumers in the current study were more willing to purchase eco-friendly as opposed to organic apparel. The findings suggest that retailers need to consider the language used when communicating with consumers. Also, consumers were more willing to purchase T-shirts Made In America. Retailers may want to promote their domestic manufacturing through in-depth branding and promotions.\nOriginality/value: In order to identify the attributes to be used in the current study, labels on T-shirts in stores were examined and then those attributes were verified in the literature. In addition, the inclusion of price as an attribute, rather than as a separate independent question, provides a more realistic view of young consumers' decision making.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Interpersonal influence in the workplace - part three: Some research findings: influencing behaviour and team role behaviour
|
[
"Influence",
"Personality",
"Team working",
"Psychological tests",
"Training",
"Management development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This is the third part of a three part paper about influencing behaviour in the workplace. The first part of the paper presented a model of influencing behaviour along with some research findings based on aspects of this model. This part of the article presents some further research findings that explore the relationship between influencing behaviour and team role behaviour.The basic model of influencing behaviour described in the first part of the article was derived from a similar model developed by the authors (Manning et al., 2006) to explore the determinants of an individual's team role behaviour i.e. their habitual way of behaving in a particular team, including their behavioural strengths and weaknesses. The model asserts that an individual's team role behaviour is related to three sets of factors, namely, their personality and two sets of contextual variables, the expectations of their work role and their orientation to that role. We argued that these same three sets of variables are likely to impact on an individual's influencing behaviour. In this part of the article, we build a link between the first and second parts of this article and the previous article on team role behaviour, by describing the relationship between influencing behaviour and team role behaviour.Given that the same three sets of variables are related to both individual team role behaviour and influencing behaviour, one would expect there to be clear relationships between individual team role behaviour and influencing behaviour. We present findings evidencing this relationship and highlighting the different strategies and styles associated with the different team roles.The main conclusion from this part of the article is specifically related to the revised model of team roles put forward by Manning et al. (2006). This was developed in response to perceived limitations in Belbin's (1981; 1993) original formulation of team role theory. It builds on and develops the idea that there is a significant social dimension to team roles. It does this by highlighting the ways in which different sources of power, and associated patterns of influencing behaviour, are linked to each of the team roles.The research is based upon data collected by the authors during training and development activities that they carried out and/or were involved in. Information collected comes from a work-based sample of men and women, at all organisational levels, in a variety of mainly public sector organisations in the United Kingdom. The research instruments used are described in Appendix 1.\nTeam role behaviour and influencing behaviour: The first part of this article has looked at the relationship between influencing behaviour and three sets of variables, namely, personality, team role expectations and team role orientation, including the autonomy in the role and commitment to it. It developed out of an earlier article by Manning et al. (2006) into the relationship between team role behaviour and the same three sets of variables. It follows that, if both team role behaviour and influencing are related to the same three sets of variables then one would expect both team role behaviour and influencing behaviour to be related. In other words, one would expect there to be a link between an individual's team role behaviour and their approach to interpersonal influence. This part of the article provides evidence that confirms this relationship.Table I looks at the degree of correlation, and its statistical significance, between team role behaviour and the use of the six influencing strategies and the three influencing style dimensions. Statistically significant relationships are detailed. Full supporting data is shown in Appendix 2, Tables AI and AII.In the light of the data presented above, along with that presented in the earlier article by Manning et al. (2006), it is possible to re-consider the various team roles, in terms of the power that each has and the associated influencing strategies and styles they adopt. This builds on and further develops the ideas presented in the earlier article (Manning et al., 2006). In particular, it highlights the ways in which team roles should, in part at least, be thought of as having a significant social dimension related to their power.These ideas are summarised in Table II. The first column list the various team roles, the second column describes the power, or lack of power, available each of the team roles, and the third column describes the associated influencing behaviour that this gives rise to.\nDiscussion: The above findings provide a further set of insights into the nature of the different team roles. This confirms the idea that there is a significant social dimension to team roles and develops this idea by arguing that the various roles possess, or lack, different types of power and that this is linked to their use of particular strategies and styles. This has been described in detail above, although it useful to consider an example here. The \"team worker\" role lacks both expert power and autonomy, and has only very moderate legitimate power. It is a generalist role, dependent on personal power and characterised by a high level of commitment, and it is highly constrained. Consistent with these features, team workers tend to use courting favour and exchange, while avoiding coercion; their style tends to be both collaborative and opportunistic.This is not to deny that personality characteristics may play an important part in this and other team roles: they almost certainly do. It is to highlight the fact that team roles are, in part at least, organisational roles and that individuals learn to play these roles and learn to use influencing strategies and styles appropriate to such roles.In the first part of this paper, we briefly considered the relationship between personality traits and role suitability, based on an analysis of the relationship between contextual variables and influencing behaviour, and between personality traits and influencing behaviour. Drawing on previous research (Manning et al., 2006) on the team role behaviour and its relationship to personality, role expectations and role orientation, we can provide suggestions about the relationship between role suitability and personality, based on the categories provided by team role theory. Table III summarises the relationships between personality traits and team role suitability. In each case, relationships are presented with those roles where the observed relationships for each trait are strongest at the top of the list and those with the weakest, but still significant, relationships at the bottom of the list.Tables II and III highlight the ways in which both personality variables and contextual variables impact on team role behaviour, illustrating the limitations of Belbin's (1981; 1993) original ideas on team roles, with its primary emphasis on personality traits. They also indicate how the \"Big Five\" model of personality may provide a useful framework both for describing personality and for relating it to team roles.Finally, it is possible to draw together the findings presented in Tables IV and V of the first part of this article, with the data presented in Table I above, to identify consistent patterns in relation to the appropriateness of the various strategies and styles for different work roles. Table IV presents conclusions about the suitability of the various strategies for different work roles, while Table V considers the suitability of various styles for such roles.Once again, we would emphasise that while the observed relationships between influencing behaviour, on the one hand, and both contextual variables and team role behaviour, on the other hand, may suggest when particular influencing strategies and styles may or may not be appropriate, they are not conclusive in themselves. To say that something tends to be the case is not to justify that it should be the case. It is, therefore, important to seek some kind of independent, external evidence that particular strategies and/or style are effective in specific contexts.One possible approach might be to consider the outcome of particular influence attempts. However, by definition, this approach lends itself more to the study of specific influence attempts than it does to the study patterns of influencing, including the use of various strategies and styles. Another approach, that lends itself more to the study of patterns of behaviour, is to examine their relationship to 360 degree assessments of such patterns of behaviour. This latter approach is consistent with the social psychological model of the process of interpersonal influence presented in the first part of this article, in that it explicitly acknowledges that there is a feedback loop between the behaviour of the influencer and the expectancies (i.e. judgements, hunches and predictions) of those being influenced about the behaviour of the influencer. In other words, the 360 feedback provides information on how those being influenced judge the behaviour of those doing the influencing. In so doing, it may be possible to confirm or refute the suggestions made above. This is something that we hope to consider further in subsequent research.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to model the relationship between influencing behaviour, personality traits, work roles and role orientation. It builds on previous research into team roles, highlighting the relationship between influencing behaviour and team role behaviour.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Statistical analysis on questionnaire data from a mixed, work-based, UK sample is used to assess relationships between influencing behaviour, role expectations, role orientation and team role behaviour.\nFindings: - The paper argues that team roles access different types of power and influencing behaviours depending on role and role orientation. The findings establish a link between influencing behaviour and team role behaviour, as well as personality traits, developing the idea that there is a significant social dimension to team roles.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The research does not consider specific influence attempts, nor does it present evidence regarding the effectiveness of patterns of influencing behaviour in particular contexts.\nPractical implications: - The paper highlights the relationship between influencing behaviour and personality and contextual variables. Considering \"when\" different strategies and styles are used may offer guidelines for action. The findings reinforce the significance of the social dimension of team roles and indicate a need for further research to consider the success of influencing behaviour in different contexts.\nOriginality/value: - Previous research into influencing behaviour has focused on its relationship to either situational variables or personality traits and, where personality variables have been studied, they have been specific traits. This research considers both sets of variables simultaneously and covers the whole personality domain. This is the first study of the relationship between team role behaviour and influencing behaviour.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Oil prices, policy uncertainty and asymmetries in inflation expectations
|
[
"Economic policy uncertainty",
"Inflation expectations",
"Oil prices",
"Asymmetry",
"E3",
"E5"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Inflation expectation is the rate of inflation that consumers, businesses, workers and investors expect in the future. When expected inflation increases, nominal interest rate also increases, through Fisher equation, if the real interest rate is fixed. The increase in nominal interest rate creates an upward pressure on prices through money market equilibrium if the money supply is unchanged. Thus, a rise in inflation expectations may trigger actual inflation in the economy. Inflation targeting central banks try to keep inflation expectations under control. This, in turn, requires the central banks to understand how factors such as oil price and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) affect inflation expectations. In this respect, investigating the nature of asymmetry in inflation expectations originating from oil prices and EPU shocks is a topical issue.\n2. The data and its properties: We use the inflation expectations of consumers from the University of Michigan's Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior. In this survey, the data of consumer sentiment are collected by interviewing a random sample of approximately 500 US households each month. The consumer sentiment represents the forecast of the respondents about some key macroeconomic variables, such as inflation, interest rates and unemployment. We get the data of inflation expectations from the Federal Reserve Economic Database maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.\n3. The empirical analysis: 3.1 Descriptive statistics\n4. Economic implications of the findings: Our analysis has several important economic implications. First, our analysis shows that after the financial crisis inflation expectations respond more sharply to a large positive (increasing) oil price shock than to a large negative (decreasing) oil price shock, other things being same. This indicates that inflation expectations are less anchored after the financial crisis. Inflation expectations are less anchored after the financial crisis because of FED's greater focus on output stabilization and uncertainty about monetary policy. This has ultimately made inflation expectations more sensitive to a large increase in oil price and, as a result, a large upsurge in oil price may trigger inflation quickly through inflation expectations.\n5. Conclusion: We apply Kilian and Vigfusson (2011) method to check possible asymmetric effect of oil price and policy uncertainty shocks on inflation expectations. We also check the asymmetries before and after the financial crisis. For formulating and conducting appropriate monetary policy, central banks need to know correct relationships between inflation and its determinants. In this regard, possible asymmetric effect of oil price and policy uncertainty on inflation expectations could be important information for central banks.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possible asymmetric response of inflation expectations to oil price and policy uncertainty shocks.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors used the test of asymmetric impulse responses proposed by Kilian and Vigfusson (2011) to explore the issue of asymmetry.\nFindings: Unlike other studies that assume symmetric effects, this study finds asymmetric effects of oil price and policy uncertainty on inflation expectations for positive and negative shocks and for pre- and post-financial-crisis periods. In particular other things being same, a same magnitude oil price shock has greater effect on inflation expectations in post-crisis period than in pre-crisis period. Moreover, in post-crisis period a positive increasing oil price shock has greater effect on inflation expectations than a negative decreasing oil price shock.\nPractical implications: The paper concludes that FED's greater focus on output stabilization since financial crisis has made inflation expectations less anchored and a sudden surge in oil price may quickly trigger inflation through inflation expectations.\nOriginality/value: Exploring the issue of the possible asymmetric effects of oil price and economic policy uncertainty on inflation expectations is a relatively new topic (as other studies only assumed symmetry and did not investigate the possible asymmetry in this regard).\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Competencies which shape leadership
|
[
"Leadership",
"Competency development",
"Education production",
"Structural equations models"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Employability has been described as a set of achievements - skills, understandings and personal attributes - that make individuals more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations and careers, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy (Harvey, 2001). An important distinction is to be drawn between employment and employability. Employment is synonymous with having a job, whereas employability is associated with possessing capacities that facilitate and enhance employment opportunities over time. Being employable means having the qualities needed to maintain employment and to progress in the workplace (Hawkins and Winter, 1995). The labour market needs and the requirements of employers for skills from graduates vary by type of employer, by countries and by economic contexts. Thus, a person with a given level of employability might fare very differently in different labour markets. In this sense, Markes (2006) provides an extensive review of data available in the existing literature on the employer skills needs with a particular emphasis on those skills required by engineering and manufacturing employers in the UK.\n2. The links between competency development and leadership behaviour: From a very general perspective, leadership can be defined as the process by which an individual directs, encourages and guides others to perform group tasks oriented to achieve objectives that are shared by all the members of the group (Armstrong, 1990; Cole, 1996). This type of definition highlights the fact that leadership is a functional process that can be applied to any human activity involving more than one person. While leadership is traditionally conceptualized as an individual-level behaviour, the leadership process itself is conceived as a complex interaction between the individual who leads, the human team, the organizational objectives to be reached and the social, economic and organizational settings. Successful or effective leadership would occur only when the characteristics of the individual leader, the objectives to be achieved, the human team, and the tasks to be performed fit together within the environment where the process is located (Handy, 1985). A body of literature on leadership has aimed at identifying which are the types of individual leadership behaviour enhancing individual and collective performance. The very nature of the leadership process initially suggested a core distinction between two meta-categories for leadership behaviour: transactional and transformational leadership (Burns, 1978). On the one hand, transactional leaders are characterized as those who are able to motivate followers within the team to perform better by making them more aware of the relevance of their contributions to the outcomes of the production process. Therefore, transactional leadership is conceptualized as a production-centred behaviour with the employees operating as production factors that have to be guided and commanded. On the other hand, transformational leaders engage with the followers on information exchange processes to better motivate them to perform adequately in the team's production process. Hence, transformational leadership is focused on people's relations, considering their needs and interests to create situations that impel them to act according to the leader's requests.\n3. Research design and research hypotheses: The purpose of our analysis is to gain insight in the determinants of leadership behaviour in work environments by analysing the competency profile developed by higher education graduates that act as leaders at work five years after graduation. The diagram in Figure 1 displays the proposed structural equation model (SEM) to connect three theory-based econometric models: a competency model for leadership derived from leadership literature; a model for competency development derived from psychometric theory; and an education production model derived from economic literature. The proposed SEM connects the competency model for leadership behaviour at work (H1, H2, H2a, H3, H3a, H3b) with the model for development of leadership competency (H4), as well as the latter with the education production model for initial leadership competency (H5).\n4. Defining latent factors and covariance structure: The six elements involved in the structure of research hypothesis shown in Figure 1 (namely: tasks-oriented leadership at work, relations-oriented leadership at work, change-oriented leadership at work, current competency profile for leadership, competency profile for leadership acquired in higher education, and higher education practice) are unobservable and, consequently, need to be expressed as latent variables or constructs from observable indicators.\n5. Structural model estimation and goodness-of-fit analysis: The SEM specified in the previous section was used to judge whether there was sufficient evidence on the hypothesized relationships between independent and dependent variables and to infer the causal direction of those relationships. Specifically, model estimation examines the effects of the competencies currently owned by graduates on their performance as leaders at work environment regarding change, relations, and tasks (H1, H2, H2a, H3, H3a and H3b). Additionally, the model also captures the effects of higher education production on the development of competencies for leadership (H4 and H5).\n6. Conclusions and implications: We have used SEMs to examine the complex relationships between leadership behaviour in professional environments and the process of development of professional competencies by means of higher education and later work experience. The analysis confirms that graduates' current competency profile for leadership is a key determinant of their propensity to act as leaders at work in terms of the three dimensions of leadership covered. Graduates with stronger profiles of leadership competencies displayed a greater propensity to be acting as leaders for the organization they work for five years after graduation. The competencies that better promote leadership behaviour at work are the following: ability to negotiate effectively, alertness to new opportunities, ability to assert your authority, ability to mobilize the capacities of others, willingness to question the own and other's ideas, ability to come out with new ideas and solutions, ability to coordinate activities, and ability to make your meaning clear to others.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse three dimensions of leadership behaviour in professional environments by disclosing the specific competency profile developed by those who actually lead in work organizations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using data from a graduate survey oriented to provide evidence on the transition from higher education to labour market, a structural equations model (SEM) is specified and estimated to explain leadership behaviour at work in terms of the competency profile developed by individuals and its determinants. The competency profile behind leadership behaviour is the combination of two elements: the competency accumulated through professional experience and the competency profile of individuals five years before, which was partially a result of higher education. The relationships are tested on two subsamples of graduates from engineering and business/economics fields, and on a sample of graduates from all study fields.\nFindings: Estimates show evidence of significant direct and indirect effects of a specific competency profile on three connected dimensions of leadership behaviour at work: tasks, relations and change. The results show direct effects of competency profiles at the time of graduation on competency profiles five years later, and of specific higher education ways of teaching and learning on competency profiles at the time of graduation. The effects are also significant by field of study with slight differences on estimates size and on the composition of effects.\nOriginality/value: The analysis brings together leadership behaviour, competency development and education production literatures to help scholars and managers to better understand the relationships between the process of competency development and individual leadership behaviour in working environments.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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How website quality affects online impulse buying: Moderating effects of sales promotion and credit card use
|
[
"China",
"Sales promotion",
"Credit card use",
"Online impulse buying behaviour",
"Website quality"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The internet plays a vital role in our daily life. In China, majority of the population makes purchases online to conserve time and efforts, and to espouse the individuality culture. According to the 2016 China online shopping report published by the National Bureau of Statistics, China's gross merchandise volume amounted to 4.8 trillion Yuan in 2015, jumping up by 64.4 percent on a year-over-year basis. This growth was more than four times faster than the total retail sales of consumer goods. Moreover, the internet penetration rate in total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 10 percent for the first time in the Chinese history, which serves a healthy opportunity for online retailers to focus on online shoppers. A recent study by Floh and Madlberger (2013) indicates that a huge sum of shoppers purchased products spontaneously in the modern world. This portrays the growing significance of online shopping, and thereby highlighting the necessity of in-depth understanding of online impulse buying. As cited by Liu et al. (2013), User Interface Engineering, a leading research company specializing in website and product quality, reports that almost 40 percent of online shopping transactions are considered as impulse purchases (Verhagen and van Dolen, 2011). Hausman (2000) argues that 30-50 percent of all retail sales are triggered by impulse purchases, while 90 percent consumers buy goods impulsively on occasions. Recently, Wu et al. (2016) have shown that 82 percent respondents engaged in impulse shopping. A growing number of online retailers are implementing impulse buying strategies to attract and retain consumers.\n2. Background and literature review: 2.1 OIBB\n3. Determinants of OIBB and hypotheses development: Many scholars worked on the primary determinants, including visual appeal, quantity and quality of information, interactivity, and personalization (Wells et al., 2011), as well as secondary determinants, including task relevant cue, mood relevant cue (Parboteeah et al., 2009), of OIBB. However, this study specifically focuses on three comprehensive determinants of OIBB: website quality, sales promotion, and credit card use. These determinants and their subsequent hypotheses are discussed as follows.\n4. Research design and methodology: 4.1 Procedure\n5. Data analysis and results: The current study obtained significant results analyzed by different tools to explore how website quality affects OIBB with two moderators: sales promotion and credit card use. First, a pretest was piloted for the validation of scale. The study scale was carefully assessed by elected academicians and practitioners, and included wording, contents, translation, and structure. Unrotated factor analysis was used to identify the common method bias, convergent validity, discriminant validity. The reliability was measured by Cronbach's a. Furthermore, minimum to maximum item loading, average variance extracted (AVE) and minimum item to total correlations were examined before employing CFA analysis for authenticating the measurement values (Tables II and III). Moderation hypotheses were tested using a three-step moderation regression analysis (Tables IV and V).\n6. Discussions, implications, and limitations: 6.1 Major findings\n7. Concluding remarks: Realizing the steep increase in online buying trend, the present study has explored the role of website quality in triggering OIBB. The main aim was to analyze the above-stated relationship after augmenting the roles of sales promotion and credit card use as moderators in the model. The study was conducted in China, the world's leading emerging economy, having largest number of netizens and online shoppers. Previously conducted studies on this topic have not examined the roles of sales promotion and credit card use as moderators for OIBB from the defined drivers. The current research has employed a well-established SEM after conducting reliability and validity tests to validate the scale.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of website quality on online impulse buying behavior (OIBB) in China, and assess the moderating roles of sales promotion and credit card use.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An online and personal survey from 1,161 online shoppers belonging to three big cities of China - Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing - was conducted. A random sampling technique was utilized for data collection. Data were analyzed using validity and reliability tests, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling.\nFindings: Three major findings discovered are: first, the website quality positively affects the OIBB; second, the sales promotion significantly influences OIBB and acts as a strong moderator on the relationship between website quality and online impulse buying; and third, the online impulse purchases are positively influenced by use of credit card, and the use of credit card enhances the relationship between website quality and online impulse buying.\nResearch limitations/implications: First, the website quality positively affects the OIBB; second, the sales promotion significantly influences OIBB and acts as a strong moderator in the relationship between website quality and online impulse buying; and third, online impulse purchases are positively influenced by credit card use. Moreover, credit card use enhances the relationship between website quality and online impulse buying.\nOriginality/value: This research is the first to investigate the relationship between website quality and OIBB in China, with sales promotion and credit card use as moderators.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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The interactive effect of Gestalt situations and arousal seeking tendency on customers' emotional responses: matching color and music to specific servicescapes
|
[
"Gestalt psychology",
"Music",
"Customers"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.\nIntroduction: Numerous studies relating to the effect of atmospherics on customer satisfaction and behavior have been examined. However, little research has adopted the concept of Gestalt and atmospheric cues of color and music combined on customers' emotional responses in two different servicescapes - a hotel guest room versus a hotel bar (e.g. private versus public setting). The notion of Gestalt calls for more attention to the holistic impacts of the environment on consumer reactions (Carmer and Rouzer, 1974). Relying on the notion of Gestalt, this paper argues that particular combinations of environmental elements fit certain servicescapes better than others.In this first empirical study of the joint effect of color and music, and an individual level variable to model the effect of servicescape on emotional responses, two types of environmental cues (music and color) were manipulated to create Gestalt and non-Gestalt environments. Prior research has failed to consider examining personality traits as an intervening variable between servicescapes and emotional responses. To fill this gap, this study seeks to test Gestalt in two types of servicescapes; furthermore, the study seeks to test Gestalt along with an individual level variable (e.g. arousal seeking tendency).Color is a complex variable to quantify. However, it is one of the very first and obvious environmental cues that an ordinary individual would experience when they first walk into a service environment. Likewise, music is an auditory cue; many studies have found that music alone is an obvious environmental cue that affects individuals' moods, emotions, and satisfaction when they are in a service environment. In this study, color and music were manipulated as independent variables in the experimentation. Lin (2004) has also suggested that we should take individual level variables into consideration and examine if an individual level variable (e.g. AST) would affect the relationship between the combined effect of color and music on an individual's emotional responses (e.g. pleasure/arousal).The first section of this paper is a brief review of the servicescape literature. An explanation of the theoretical implications of the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model (Donovan and Rossiter, 1982) and of concepts from Gestalt psychology (Carmer and Rouzer, 1974) follows, along with discussion on the proposed moderating variable (AST), research methodology, and results. The final section includes implications for future research.\nLiterature review: Human behavior and the environment\nMethods: Pilot tests\nResults: Descriptive statistics, correlations, and scale reliabilities (Cronbach alphas) are presented in Table I. All scales have high reliabilities ranging from 0.78 (AST) to 0.85 (pleasure). The correlations indicate that arousal and pleasure are significantly and directly related, although the correlation between arousal and pleasure is a modest 0.24. AST is not significantly related to either dependent variable.Manipulation checks\nDiscussion: When individuals reached the higher level of AST, they felt most pleasurable in a tranquil guest room; followed by a dynamic bar, dynamic guest room, and finally tranquil bar. This result also helps to explain that individual personality trait (e.g. AST) does moderate the relationship between servicescape and ambience combined on an individual's pleasure. Individuals responded most pleasurably in a tranquil guest room setting, perhaps because of its novel colors (e.g. aqua blue and white) and music adopted in an ordinary hotel guest room; the soothing and relaxing atmospherics also match the purpose of the guest room: relaxing. In addition to the fact that tranquil guest room is a Gestalt situation, the result of this finding is also consistent with Grossbart et al.'s (1976) theorizing that high AST individuals are more likely to exhibit a greater awareness and tendency to evaluate, accept, and adopt to this unique simulated guest room than individuals with lower preferred arousal level.In contrast, when individual AST level is at the lower level, individuals feel most pleasurable in a tranquil guest room, follow by a dynamic guest room, a tranquil bar, and a dynamic bar. This result can be explained in that when an individual's AST is at the lower level, the ambience color and music appeared to better match their AST level; hence, they feel more pleasurable in a tranquil ambiance than in a dynamic ambiance servicescape. In other words, when individual's AST is at the lower level, the Gestalt and non-Gestalt did not affect them as much. It is the environmental attributes that tend to stimulate them more than the servicescapes. AST encompasses preferences for novel, complex, or intense stimulations (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974). Overall, the results of this study provide the explanation that as individual's AST increases in a Gestalt situation, they tend to feel more pleasurable and aroused (in a positive slope) in a Gestalt situation versus a non-Gestalt situation.\nTheoretical implications: One of the major theoretical implications of this study stems from the inclusion of Gestalt psychology in combination with two complex atmospheric attributes: color and music. The study sought to examine the effects of Gestalt versus non-Gestalt situations on individual emotional responses, in different types of environmental settings (bar and guest room). These two types of servicescapes, coupled with different combinations of color and music, were used as manipulations of Gestalt versus non-Gestalt settings in this study. As a result, this study has expanded the Gestalt conceptualization. Corresponding to previous Gestalt theorizing, it was found that an individual's emotional responses were more positive in a Gestalt than in a non-Gestalt situation, especially when an individual arousal seeking tendency level was taken into consideration. This brings to the forefront the need to include individual level variables when modeling the relationship between the environment and individual emotional responses and behaviors. Consistent with previous finding by Wirtz et al.(2000) and theorizing by Mehrabian and Russell (1974), an individual's AST is determined by his or her characteristics as well as the nature of the environmental setting. The inclusion of the individual level variable, AST, in the present study along with the notion of Gestalt helps enrich the current servicescape literature and derives a coherent overall perspective of how consumers respond to the integration of multi-sensory information (i.e. color and music) along with an individual's arousal seeking tendency.\nManagerial implications: Previous studies suggested that the importance of a pleasant servicescape lies in enhancement of positive individual cognitive, emotional, physiological states, and behaviors (Namasivayam and Lin, 2008). The results of the present study show that color and music, jointly with the servicescape, have a strong effect on affective responses. Clearly, hospitality firms should design spaces taking into account the holistic or Gestalt effect of objective elements of a servicescape. Managers should understand that individual uses of servicescape and reactions to objective servicescape elements will be different depending on a public (e.g. bar) or private (e.g. guest room) setting. Further, managers should consider target customers' needs, interests, and personality characteristics when adapting specific environmental stimuli such as color and music to create a pleasant servicescape. For example, in a guest room servicescape where the usage is mainly for relaxation and a good night's sleep, the ambience should be matched with tranquil music and color to enhance guests' pleasure and arousal.\nContributions: As discussed throughout this study, the existing emphasis on the concept of Gestalt is limited in the marketing literature relating to studies on servicescapes and atmospherics (Bitner, 1992; Lin, 2004). The Gestalt concept should be considered a fundamental concept in examining how environmental stimuli affect individual emotional responses and behaviors. This study contributes to the marketing (servicescape) literature by incorporating the complex theory of Gestalt into the empirical test. The study also emphasizes the importance of categorizing color and music.This study also contributes to the atmospherics and servicescapes literature by combining color and music and, at the same time, categorizing colors into a more readily accessible typology. Many studies in the environmental psychology incorporate one or two colors, most often red or blue, in their empirical tests. It is understandable that in order to retain the rigor of the experiment, they only incorporated one or two colors. However, the concept of Gestalt suggests that any specific servicescape usually encompasses multiple colors, not just one or two and not just red and/or blue. Hence, another contribution to the current marketing literature is that multiple color schemes were adopted and tested in the present study.This is one of the few studies that have included personality trait (arousal seeking tendency) as a key variable in examining the effects of servicescapes and atmospherics on consumers. Since AST, our preferred arousal seeking tendency, influences our pleasure level (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974; Raju, 1980), it is important to include AST in the study, for it will alter the relationship between environmental stimuli and individual levels of pleasure and satisfaction. There is also very limited empirical research examining individuals' emotional responses and behaviors in a hotel or bar setting. Previous literature on servicescapes has focused primarily on studying retail stores. By examining a bar and a hotel guest room, this study also contributes specifically to the hospitality marketing literature.\nResearch limitations: There are several limitations to this study due to constraints of maintaining a rigorous experimental study. Although subjects of this study included both hotel employees and students, the majority were undergraduate senior students and graduate students. However, the majority of participants were in the age bracket of 21 to 23. Hence, the results can be generalized to these groups of consumers in the age range with caution, for the average age for all participants, is 24 to 25. While the literature on color and music is very complex, a solid, generally accepted categorization of color and music facilitating the accumulation and communication of empirical findings is lacking. Color and music are both difficult to categorize because of the tremendous amount of complexity and subjectivity within each. For example, color can be categorized along various dimensions such as hues, saturation, and brightness. Similarly, music can be categorized according to its type, tempo, or rhythm.According to Gestalt, there are many atmospheric attributes besides color and music in a servicescape. In order to control confounding, this study was limited to two environmental attributes (color and music), limiting the test of Gestalt theory. However, individuals interact with certain environments frequently and the results of this study cannot be generalized to such repeat interactions. In reality there are different kinds of bars (e.g. lounge bars, lobby lounge, nightclubs, etc.) and different levels of hotel guest rooms (e.g. business suite, double occupancy room with two double beds, single occupancy with one king size bed, budget versus luxury guest rooms, etc.). The guest room manipulation in this study showed a conventional upscale hotel suite with a living room and a king size bed only. As for the bar servicescape, the manipulation consisted of a general upscale bar with a bar counter in the center of the room and sofas around it. The size and the space were controlled and the size of both servicescapes was the same (approximately 13.5 x 19 ft) (Rutes et al., 2001).This study examined only one type of bar and one type of guest room with basic configurations and furnishings. Similarly, the color schemes that were included were the two extremes (dynamic and tranquil); colors between were not put to the test. Further, only jazz music was selected because it was considered most appropriate for both settings. Results can be generalized to other similar settings only with caution. Another limitation is that the results of the present study should be inferred with care in terms of providing answers to why some individuals with high or low AST would prefer excitement and others would not. Since AST is considered a personality trait and there are so many latent reasons why some individuals would prefer excitement over other individuals, to understand more in-depth why, future research including specific individual variables such as novelty-seeking and different types of personality trait variables other than AST, will need to be included as an extension to the current research framework.\nFuture research: While the major purpose of this study is to focus on examining a solid foundation of the theories (e.g. S-O-R, Gestalt, and AST), for future research, researchers can enhance external validity by conducting field studies using a triangulation research method and recruit subjects who have more experience in traveling and involvement in the use of these servicescapes (e.g. bar and guest room) as opposed to using simulation videos and student subjects. Moreover, future research could extend this current research framework by testing different service environments such as the bank (the use of ATMs versus tellers) to also help further enrich the services marketing research. Researchers could adopt different environmental stimuli in different servicescapes or compare different servicescape tiers. Future research could also manipulate pleasant versus unpleasant servicescapes and different level variables to examine individual evaluation and behaviors. It is apparent that the focus of this research was not on the different principles of Gestalt. Future research studies could also adopt these principles into empirical studies relating to the effect of servicescapes on emotional responses, evaluation, and behaviors. In addition, different moderating variables at both micro-level (e.g. individual's goal-directed and exploratory variables) and macro-level (e.g. cultural background) can also be included in the research design to further examine the effect of different joint atmospheric attributes on satisfaction. The literature on color and music are complex but lack precise categorization of variables or findings, making them difficult to adapt and control in empirical tests. In future studies relating to atmospheric attributes, researchers could examine how specific attributes and their characteristics can be best categorized.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to investigate the interactive effect of Gestalt versus non-Gestalt situations, and arousal seeking tendency (AST) on customers' pleasure and arousal with matching color and music to hotel bars and hotel guest rooms; thereby providing guidance for service providers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This is an experimental design study with four treatments. Fictitious hotel bar and guest room video clips were created with the appropriate manipulation of color schemes and music as independent variables. After the video clip was shown, subjects were asked to complete a survey instrument. The hypothesized model was then tested.\nFindings: - The results showed that the interactive effect of Gestalt versus non-Gestalt, and AST on an individual's pleasure and arousal are both positive and statistically significant. As an individual's AST increases, both the arousal score and pleasure score increased in Gestalt situations (dynamic bar and tranquil guest room) and decreased in non-Gestalt situations (tranquil bar and dynamic guest room).\nResearch limitations/implications: - Only jazz music and a specific type of hotel bar and hotel guest room settings with a limited target market were utilized. Similarly, the color schemes that were included were the two extremes (dynamic and tranquil). Results can be generalized to other similar settings only with caution.\nPractical implications: - Hospitality firms should design spaces taking into account the holistic or Gestalt effect of objective elements of a servicescape. Managers should understand that individual uses of a servicescape and reactions to objective servicescape elements will be different depending on a specific type of servicescape.\nOriginality/value: - No research has been done investigating the effects of the color and music combined in two distinct service settings. The value of assessing effects of different settings is demonstrated.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Prior exposure to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial beliefs
|
[
"Uncertainty",
"Beliefs",
"Attitude",
"Affect",
"Nascent entrepreneurs"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The prevalence of entrepreneurial activity provides widespread examples for individuals to observe others engaged in entrepreneurship. Despite a wealth of research on this topic, the influence of prior exposure to entrepreneurship on entrepreneurial processes remains somewhat unclear (Zapkau et al., 2017). Even more importantly, existing research has underexplored the potential implications of the fact that prior exposure to entrepreneurship often involves an evaluative, qualitative aspect, leading individuals to form positive or negative general attitudes toward this potential career choice. This underexploration is an important oversight because attitudes have been shown to be an important determinant of beliefs and behavior (Kim and Hunter, 1993), suggesting that general attitude from prior exposure could play a significant role in entrepreneurial processes.\nBackground: General attitude and specific entrepreneurial beliefs\nTheory and hypotheses: The Affect Infusion Model\nMethods: Sample\nResults: Table I reports descriptive statistics and a correlation matrix for the variables used in the analyses. Univariate statistics provide some interesting background. Demographically, the sample is 61 percent male with an average age of just under 40 years old, and 73 percent white. The average score for general attitude toward entrepreneurship is 4.1 (where 4 indicates positive and 5 is very positive). The mean year 1 and year 5 sales estimates are just over $36,200 and $130,000, respectively. Estimates of survival likelihood average 79.3 percent, an estimate that seems quite high given prior work mentioned earlier of typical survival rates of around 50 percent. Average uncertainty estimates are lowest for competitive and operational uncertainty (average around 2, which equates to low uncertainty) and highest for financial uncertainty, with the average estimate at the midpoint of the scale from very low uncertainty (1) to very high uncertainty (5).\nDiscussion: This theoretical and empirical examination of the relationship between individuals' general attitudes toward entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial beliefs associated with current entrepreneurial opportunities provides important contributions. Entrepreneurial beliefs are fundamental building blocks of entrepreneurial intentions and behaviors. Extending knowledge of the determinants of entrepreneurial beliefs into the emotional domain, this research provides a different perspective on the role of affect in the entrepreneurial process. Affect may have positive aspects as emphasized by much of the existing literature (e.g. Baron, 2008; Cardon et al., 2009); however, its influence may not be uniformly beneficial. Affect and positive attitudes may lead nascent entrepreneurs to form biased estimates of the potential of their opportunity.\nConclusion: Exposure to entrepreneurship is a pervasive phenomenon, and this exposure inevitably leads to the formation of some attitude toward entrepreneurship in general. Although this prior exposure provides little relevant current information, the affect associated with the attitude formed from prior exposure influences the judgments and beliefs associated with current entrepreneurial opportunities. Empirical analyses of a representative sample of US adults working to start a new business indicates that those with more positive general attitudes toward entrepreneurship expect higher performance from their ventures, better chances of survival, and lower levels of uncertainty. These findings respond to recent suggestions to incorporate the qualitative, evaluative aspects of prior exposure to entrepreneurship (Zapkau et al., 2017) to better understand how prior exposure affects entrepreneurial processes.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: To contribute to the knowledge of factors that shape entrepreneurial beliefs, the purpose of this paper is to theorize and empirically test how individuals' general attitudes toward entrepreneurship based on exposure to others' prior entrepreneurial activities are related to beliefs surrounding current entrepreneurial opportunities. Positive attitudes based on prior exposure can lead to bias in the beliefs about current opportunities being evaluated, suggesting that positive affect can be a negative influence in the entrepreneurial process.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The sample is the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics I, a nationally representative, longitudinal data set of US adults in the process of starting businesses. Regression analyses demonstrate how general attitudes are associated with beliefs about level of future sales, probability of venture survival, and levels of financial, competitive, and operational uncertainty.\nFindings: Nascent entrepreneurs with more positive general attitudes toward entrepreneurship form more optimistic estimates of the financial performance and survival likelihood of their future ventures. They also estimate lower levels of environmental uncertainty.\nOriginality/value: This research extends understanding of the impact of prior exposure to entrepreneurship in the entrepreneurial process. It also contributes to increasing understanding of the determinants of entrepreneurial beliefs and extends prior work that has considered cognitive determinants (knowledge and motivation) to consider emotional determinants (affect-infused attitudes), consistent with the heightened recent interest in the role of emotion in entrepreneurship. This research provides a different perspective on the role of affect in the entrepreneurial process. While prior work addressing affect in entrepreneurship has explored the positive aspects of affect, the present study suggests that affect may not have a uniformly positive influence.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Library space assessment methods: perspectives of new information professionals
|
[
"Professional education",
"Academic libraries",
"Service quality",
"Library assessment",
"Learning spaces",
"Evaluation frameworks"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Assessment and space are among the most critical issues facing higher education institutions and their libraries in the twenty-first century. Assessment has been highlighted as a strategic concern by academic librarians and their professional associations, evidenced by initiatives such as the ACRL Assessment in Action program (Ackermann, 2015). Saunders (2015, pp. 1-2) observes that \"Academic libraries are under enormous pressure to demonstrate their value through assessment\" and \"must engage in assessment\". In addition, in parallel with significant growth in specialist assessment librarian positions (Oakleaf, 2013; Passonneau and Erickson, 2014), we find growing recognition that: \"Assessment cannot be seen as a separate 'management activity', but must be appreciated and valued by all members of the culture and assumed to be a part of their regular work\" (Lakos and Phipps, 2004, p. 351), which is reflected in the competency statements of professional associations in our field (ALA, 2009; ALIA, 2014; CARL, 2010), and underlines the need for professional master's programs to prepare student librarians for assessment activities. However, a recent survey of American librarians with assessment responsibilities indicated that their professional education did not prepare them to perform assessment-related tasks (Fleming-May and Mays, 2015).\nData sources and methods: The research was based on secondary data; that is, data already existing as a by-product of course delivery, rather than data generated specifically for the investigation. The data available included 180 online discussion posts, 97 individual assessment reports, 32 descriptions of evaluation criteria and 32 group project reports. Following a preliminary small-scale \"snapshot\" study conducted after the first complete iteration of the course as a two-section onsite and online offering, which was presented at the 11th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services held in Edinburgh, July 2015 (Corrall, 2017), the present much larger study adopted a longitudinal or \"diachronic\" collective (multiple) case study strategy because the instructor was interested in not only analysing within and across the different student groups, but also exploring whether student approaches to designing and conducting a one-shot space assessment were changing over time (Thomas, 2016, p. 114).\nCase description and context: The Academic Libraries course is delivered in 14 weekly learning modules in the Fall term. It is taught on campus in a traditional classroom setting and off campus via the University's Pitt Online platform. The two sections are managed separately, but students in both sections have access to the same learning content; both onsite and online students are required to use CourseWeb, a Web-based course and learning management system (the University of Pittsburgh's implementation of BlackBoard) to engage with lecture materials, related readings, discussion forums and other learning resources. The only significant difference between the two sections is the mode of delivery for lectures, which are pre-recorded for the online students and available for viewing/listening at a time of their choice (together with full transcripts), instead of being delivered in real time; students in both sections have continuing access to lecture slides via CourseWeb for the duration of the course.\nCase analysis and discussion: The study population for the investigation reported here comprises 97 students formed into 32 groups from 3 onsite and 3 online sections of the course taught in Fall 2014, Fall 2015 and Fall 2016. Table I shows how participant numbers for the assessment project were distributed over the three years. It is worth noting that the students taking this course had widely varying levels of knowledge and experience of academic libraries, ranging from those whose knowledge was limited to their own use of libraries as undergraduates, through some with experience of employment as student assistants, to a few with many years of experience working in academic (or public) libraries as paraprofessionals. Generally the online students tend to have more experience than their onsite counterparts, with a substantial proportion working full-time in libraries while studying part-time. (The icebreaker forum used at the start of the course included questions about their prior library experience among the prompts used for students to introduce themselves to the course learning community).\nConclusion: Our investigation of methods and techniques used by student-librarians to design and conduct one-shot multi-site space assessments identified an array of influences on their approaches, including literature from diverse professional domains drawn from many different countries, which confirmed the emergent field of learning space assessment as a global concern and a specialty increasingly shaped by multidisciplinary expertise and interdisciplinary thinking.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The research explores the emerging specialty of learning space assessment with a focus on how new information professionals represented by graduate students in an academic libraries course defined quality criteria for library spaces and how they approached designing and conducting a one-shot multi-site space assessment project.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The instructor-investigator adopted a diachronic collective case study strategy, using documents generated by six cohorts over three academic years. The data included 180 online discussion posts, 97 individual site assessments and 32 group project reports. Data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively to identify patterns and trends in student behaviour.\nFindings: The analysis revealed a strong trend among students for creating their own evaluation frameworks in preference to reusing existing professional tools in their current form; the proportion of students who developed their own criteria or combined existing criteria in new ways shifted from 40 per cent to 80 per cent in three years. Their approaches demonstrated willingness and ability to engage in independent and creative thinking, and readiness to explore interdisciplinary and international perspectives on space. They also displayed a commitment to accessible, flexible and adaptable user-centred design for active, collaborative learning and to bringing a user perspective to their observations.\nOriginality/value: The focus on student-librarians provides a unique forward-looking perspective on the desirable qualities of next-generation learning spaces in academic libraries. The study documents an unprecedented range of established and novel space evaluation frameworks and tools informed by different professional disciplines. The results should be of interest to library and information science (LIS) educators and practitioners.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Gender and risk: women, risk taking and risk aversion
|
[
"Risk management",
"Women",
"Gender",
"Mentoring"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Media reporting on business and the economy is replete with language illustrating common stereotypes about gender and risk. Depicting Wall Street's unchecked and excessive risk taking as the culprit for 2008s global financial meltdown, brokers are \"credit default swap cowboys\" (Mortgenson, 2008) and \"capitalist buccaneers,\" and the entire Street is \"the Wild West\" with \"too much testosterone\" (Syed, 2008). On the other hand, speculation abounds whether the financial crisis could have been averted had more women been the decision makers, both domestically and globally. A financial services sector chief executive officer (CEO) says, \"women [...] have a greater desire to build firm foundations that will endure\" (de Vita, 2008). In October 2008, Iceland, after declaring bankruptcy, turned to two women to rebuild its financial system \"after the banking empire built by its young male business-schooled elite collapsed.\" A government official noted: \"Now, the women are taking over [...] to clean it up\" (O'Conner, 2008). A French business school study reinforces this view of women in finance as risk averse and therefore better able than men to \"safely\" husband financial resources (Ferrary, 2009).\nLiterature review: Existing empirical research on gender and risk concentrates on behavior in three arenas: health and physical safety; finance including investment, gambling, and insurance; and strategic decision making in a professional work context. Research suggests that women are clearly more risk averse than men in the arena of physical health and safety (Hersch, 1996; Barksy et al., 1997; Pacula, 1997; Harrant and Vaillant, 2008; Harris et al., 2006). Results about gender differences in risk taking in the financial arena (Croson and Gneezy, 2009; Eckel and Grossman, 2003) are more nuanced.A cumulative view of the research suggests that women's decision making about risk in investment and insurance decisions is context sensitive in ways different from men (Badunenko et al., 2009; Hibbert et al., 2008; Beckman and Menkhoff, 2008; Eckel and Grossman, 2008; Charness and Gneezy, 2007; Harrtell, 2007; Fellner and Maciejovsky, 2007; He et al., 2007; Iqbal et al., 2006; Meier-Pesti and Goetze, 2006; Holt and Laury, 2002; Dohmen et al., 2005; Sunden and Surette, 1998; Powell and Ansic, 1998; Jianakoplos and Bernasek, 1998). A dominant finding is that women are more risk sensitive in the context of losses than gains (He et al., 2007). Evidence suggests that this is because women estimate the probability of gains and losses differently than men (Fehr-Duda et al., 2006; Olsen and Cox, 2001). If the context is insurance against loss, research suggests that men and women's decision making is similar (Schubert et al., 1999, 2000). When the context is investment, there is more evidence of gender difference (Hibbert, 2008; Beckman and Menkhoff, 2008). Gender gaps in risk propensity may be sensitive to national or regional cultures. Studies of household investment behavior in Europe find no gender difference (Badunenko et al., 2009; Harrtell, 2007; Zinkhan and Karande, 1991) in contrast with several investigations using US population samples (Hibbert et al., 2008; Jianakoplos and Bernasek, 1998; Riley and Chow, 1992). A study of CEOs that awarded additional options to purchase stock in their companies (Iqbal et al., 2006) finds no gender difference in risk propensity. If risk averse, women would diversify by selling some of their previously awarded stock but this is not the case. In this context, as CEOs, women are highly familiar with the risk environment and perceive that they have some degree of control over future outcomes.Research focused on risk propensity in specific managerial contexts rather than in allocation of investment portfolios, insurance, or simulated gambling situations finds much less, if any, evidence of gender bias. In field studies of entrepreneurs (Corman, 2001; Masters and Meier, 1988) and managerial strategy situations (Castillo and Cross, 2008; Johnson and Powell, 1993; Riley and Chow, 1992), gender does not appear to have a strong impact on risk propensity. Building on this stream of research, we sought to explore two questions. First, building on previous literature (Iqbal et al., 2006), we wanted to explore risk propensity in concrete managerial contexts, rather than experimental settings typical of research on risk taking in financial resource allocation. Second, we sought to draw on literature about gender in organizations to identify reasons for stereotype persistence in the face of evidence that women's risk decision making in managerial settings may not be so different from men's. For the analysis of risk taking and risk decision making, we used the Simmons 2008 Gender and Risk Survey and database described below.Simmons Gender and Risk Survey and database\nResults and discussion: Women's risk propensity in hypothetical financial allocations\nExplaining stereotype persistence and implications for practitioners: Despite strong support in the survey findings that women embrace risk, women are still viewed as risk averse in the business world. In this section, we first explore three explanations for this discrepancy. Fundamental to each explanation is either the alignment with or violation of role congruency, specifically, \"the extent to which men and women behave in a manner that is consistent with the sex role stereotypes society holds for them and socially prescribed expectations for both genders\" (Klenke, 2003, p. 1029). We then suggest what individuals and organizations can do to benefit from women's risk taking.Why are women still seen as risk averse?\nLimitations and conclusions: This research adds to the rich scholarship on gender and risk by raising questions about gender and risk propensity in managerial settings. The vast majority of literature on this topic considers gender and risk behavior in the relatively narrow sphere of portfolio investment, gambling, and insurance. We examined women's risk behavior in broader managerial settings and find that motivators for women's risk taking are the same as those identified in research as general, gender-blind motivators. Women take risks in managerial settings and we find little evidence to support a particularly \"female\" decision process around risk taking.This is a preliminary conclusion because there are several important limitations of our study. The sample is biased because the survey drew from a population of high performing women who either independently sought the opportunity to attend a leadership development conference or were offered the opportunity by their employers. This population might be more likely to exhibit \"masculine\" traits, such as risk taking, than a broader group. While this limitation permits us to tease out and understand the risk behavior of one segment of women from the general population, namely high performers in fairly large organizations, it does leave the need for further research on other segments of women, such as women at lower socio-economic levels, or women entrepreneurs, or non-managerial women. Scholars can continue to develop a more nuanced understanding of women and risk taking by continuing to segment the general population and examining the behaviors, drivers, and enablers of risk in these different sub-groups. While it is appealing to compare men's versus women's risk behavior, being able to compare across diverse women would be a significant contribution to scholarship.Our findings are limited because the Simmons database is based on a sample of women working for US companies. Furthermore, 80 percent of respondents in this database was Caucasian women. It is important to pursue further investigation of risk propensity in non-US managerial settings and in a sample that is more racially diverse. Comparative cross-cultural studies are needed to identify how gender-neutral factors might potentially impact with the contextual factors, such as societal and organizational culture dimensions identified in the GLOBE program (House et al., 2004), to influence women's risk taking decision making.While our conclusions suggest avenues for further research, the evidence of female risk taking presented here is an important antidote to common stereotypes evident in the contemporary media. Reasons for stereotype persistence explored here and analysis of correlates of risk taking in specific managerial contexts have important practical implications for human resources practice and women's career development.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Labeling women as risk-averse limits the positive benefits both women and organizations can gain from their risk taking. The purpose of this paper is to explore women's risk taking and reasons for stereotype persistence in order to inform human resource practice and women's career development.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper draws on literature about gender and organizations to identify reasons for the persisting stereotype of women's risk aversion. Utilizing literature and concepts about risk appetite and decision making, the paper evaluates results of the Simmons Gender and Risk Survey database of 661 female managers.\nFindings: - The paper finds evidence of gender neutrality in risk propensity and decision making in specific managerial contexts other than portfolio allocation.\nResearch limitations/implications: - More in-depth research is needed to explore the gender-neutral motivators of risk decision making and to explore risk taking in a more diverse sample population.\nPractical implications: - The paper explores why women's risk taking remains invisible even as they take risks and offers suggestions on how women and organizations may benefit from their risk-taking activities.\nOriginality/value: - The paper synthesizes evidence on risk taking and gender, and the evidence of female risk taking is an important antidote to persisting stereotypes. The paper outlines reasons for this stereotype persistence and implications for human resource development.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Uses of art in the urban space
|
[
"Participation",
"Capabilities",
"Culture",
"The arts",
"Public agoraphobia",
"Interpassivity",
"Political aesthetics",
"De-metropolitanization"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nThe arts and capabilities: Cities have always been a natural environment for the development and enjoyment of the arts. Despite that, the debate on the role of the arts, cultural productions and creative classes in the development of contemporary cities is relatively recent. Moreover, the participants in the debate perceive them, most of the time, as an important extra-economic factor, significantly contributing to their growth, rather than as goods in themselves, endowed with an autotelic status (Florida, 2002, 2005; Green Paper of the European Commision, 2010). The researchers in the field of cultural production in the urban settings usually stress the social and economic benefits of both passive and active participation in the arts and cultural events. In this way the contemporary debate on the arts in the urban settings has largely become a part of the neoliberal discourse with its focus on growth, efficiency and maximalisation of profit, for even the champions of the intrinsic value of the arts cannot escape supporting their arguments by reference to the economic benefits of their use.\nPolitical aesthetics: If one were to explain the above-mentioned rather disappointing level of participation in the arts and culture by urban inhabitants, one should refer to a number of phenomena which inhibit people from taking advantage of the opportunities afforded to them by the urban scene. First of all, it has to be remembered that proximity of the arts does not mean their availability. Most contemporary cities are places of strict social regulations, hierarchies, distinctions and divisions, elaborately diagnosed by Bourdieu (1984) in his Distinction. From this point of view cities are places of social exclusions which have become the subject of interest of many scholars.\nAesthetic politics: The debate over the role of the arts in urban development is a proper subject not only for the political aesthetics, but also for the aesthetic politics dealing with policies adopted by various municipalities in order to foster the growth of their cities. Aside from the transformation of the city of Paris by Georges-Eugene Hausmann, undoubtedly the most captivating recent example of this is the case of the city of Bilbao in the Basque country in Spain (the below account of the Bilbao effect has been based mainly on Plaza, 2007).\nThe urban social engineering: I have dwelt on these two examples of the role of the arts in the urban development, of which the case of Santa Fe is perhaps less widely known and certainly less discussed than that of Bilbao, in order to make a rather obvious point: all cities are centres of active engineering. For life in the city is made possible by all sorts of innovative engineering devices and techniques, ubiquitous in each aspect of urban space. Indeed, cities themselves are effects of multifarious technical engineering projects, large and small; their buildings, roads, streets, bridges, etc. More importantly, however, cities are also an embodiment of another, more comprehensive kind of engineering, which may be called \"urban social engineering\". By this I do not mean something obvious like designing, constructing and maintaining the public utilities, which, with varying success, is being done by each municipality and its services. By urban social engineering I mean, rather, the design, construction, maintenance and reconstruction of the social structure of the cities.\nCrowd management vs responsive urban citizenship: This point may be reinforced by referring to the distinction between the internal and external goods as developed within the contemporary moral philosophy (MacIntyre, 2007, p. 187). One may say that, in the case of Santa Fe, for a significant part of its inhabitants, at least initially, the goods internal to their artistic practices were much more important than the external goods of public recognition, material remuneration and fame. If the chief aims of the inhabitants were goods of material success, they could have done perhaps better in New York City, Los Angeles, Boston or Chicago, wherefrom some of them actually hailed.\nDe-metropolitanisation?: Aristotle repeatedly stressed the importance of the middle classes for the stable society. As he argued, it is the middle classes which enable the stability of each society and protect it from radicalism of the hungry lower classes and the insatiable greed of the higher ones. He wrote, for example, that the constitution of societal life \"based on the middle classes is [...] most secure\" (Aristotle, 1998, 1302a, pp. 13-15); he also believed that an \"increase of the middle class [...] dissolves faction caused by inequality\" (Aristotle, 1998, 1308b, p. 29). Following Aristotle's argument, I would like to express the point of this paper by saying that it is middle-sized cities, of, say, up to 250,000 inhabitants, that might, should, and in many cases already do play a similar stabilizing role for societies at large, fulfilling the very function which, in another context, Aristotle ascribed to middle classes.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that for many urban dwellers in developed societies proximity of the arts in the urban space is not tantamount to their availability.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The method applied is based upon the conception of capabilities and the concept of the Human Development Index; an analysis of the available cultural statistics, as well as a study of two revealing case studies, that of Bilbao, Spain and Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, as distinct and alternative examples of the employment of arts as a stimulus for the urban growth and regeneration.\nFindings: The findings suggest that the current urban policies are not conducive to an equal access to the arts of the urban dwellers.\nOriginality/value: The author provides an innovative explanation of this phenomenon from his own perspective of the political aesthetics, which includes, inter alia, the concepts of the public agoraphobia, commodification and interpassivity. Making use of the distinction between the intrinsic and instrumental values, the author argues in favour of the participative approach to the arts in the urban social life, and formulates a policy recommendation according to which small- and medium-sized cities are possibly better suited to satisfy the need for the enjoyment of the arts in a more egalitarian way.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Sustainable development of communities: ISO 37120 and UN goals
|
[
"Sustainability",
"Sustainable development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Although the results of the millennium development goals have not been satisfactory in relation to the socioeconomic diversity contexts, sustainability indicators have become part of the nations' concerns, allowing some goals to be achieved. United Nations goals permit policy-focused and more assertive decision-making. However, the lack of integration among sectors is still the main sustainable development initiatives gap because the proposed objectives should be managed in a network and not taken detached (Le Blanc, 2015).\n2. Method: The qualitative interpretation of the objectives tries to predict these measurement instruments feasibility in further uses and seeks to increase the population quality of life to which it is applied.\n3. Results and discussion: The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals are separated in four dimensions by principle:\n4. Conclusion: Although open to a variety of interpretations, sustainable development reaches much acceptance. It covers key issues for humanity such as how to guarantee decent lives for people and people's relationship with the planet and with others. By analyzing the tools available to improve cities, we observed that ISO 37120 only establishes the mediation parameter for certain indicators. However, it does not specify or encourage what would be ideal for the city. Lacking minimum parameters, without considering all the cultural, geographical and social disparities that may be among them, and not enough cities were compared with other correlate ones.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The aims of this study is to put on the agenda discussions concerning the approach of sustainable goals and indicators, in terms of how they relate to each other and how to list their importance within a network of contemporary city management. From the millennium objectives experience, UN has launched the continuity of the development program, through the sustainable development goals (SDG), which have the purpose of giving support to local and regional governments for the 2030 agenda in local sphere. In the city context, sustainable development has also been approached in regulations, like ISO 37120: 2017 \"Sustainable development of communities: Indicators for city services and quality of life\". These instruments have in common the concern of offering parameters of public services to citizens and promoting in a uniform manner both social and economic growth of the urban environment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The present study aims to compare these two sustainable development tools by means of a documentary analysis and to analyze the feasibility of the proposed indicators and their qualitative evaluation goals to improve citizens' quality of life.\nFindings: The results suggest that the main urban challenges are related to unplanned urban growth and poor-quality public services, which generate a lack of commitment to enforce laws and to achieve sustainable development goals.\nOriginality/value: The study establishes bases for guiding the discussion to support managers and investors decisions to promote paradigm changes in the citizens' life and in the way cities are planned.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Three views of "guest workers" in the United States
|
[
"Jamaica",
"Hotels",
"Skills shortages",
"United States of America",
"Migrant workers"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: According to the International Society of Hospitality of Consultants, the number one challenge facing the global hospitality industry is shrinkage of labor force (Coy, 2006). The labor shortage trend is forecast to impact on most of the high-income countries in the world. The shrinking labor force in the US has long been recognized as a major force driving change for decades; however, the industry has failed to address the issue in part because of the availability of the guest worker (Choi et al., 2000). Guest workers are temporary workers brought into the USA to meet seasonal demands. Seasonal resorts in the US depend heavily on workers from other countries for restaurant, housekeeping and landscaping positions (Taylor et al., 2005). The hiring of guest workers from less developed countries, such as Jamaica, has been a solution to the labor shortage for many years. The demand for workers continues to be documented through the media as the summer cap of 33,000 visas was reached in March, 2007 (Seccombe, 2007).This exploratory study examined the other side of the H-2B program not mentioned in the media or in research. Jamaica was chosen because Jamaican workers make up approximately 20 percent of the annual cap for H-2B visas and a high percentage of the workers (90 percent) return each year, which are not included in the cap (DHS Office of Immigration Statistics, 2007). The accessibility of the Jamaican workers, language, and the strong government support also were reasons for focusing on the Jamaican workers.There are at least three perspectives on the US guest worker program. One perspective is that of the Jamaican government. The Government sponsors an overseas employment service and regulates the licensing of recruiting agencies that supply workers for the US program (Titus, 2007). The hospitality industry in the home country feels the effects of a shrinking workforce as their employees leave for a nine to ten month period to work abroad. The Jamaican tourism industry is vibrant and growing with support for training hospitality workers provided by the government. Currently, there is no documentation of the effects of the loss of these workers on Jamaican hotels or the government and economy.The third perspective of the guest worker program is the worker who leaves a home country to live and work in a foreign country for nine to ten months. It is believed that these workers are motivated by the amount of money they can earn in a short period of time. Again, there is no documentation about the impact of the program on the workers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the guest worker program from three perspectives: Jamaica, the home country, the Jamaican hotel industry, and Jamaican guest workers in the USA.Temporary movement of people for work\nMethodology: This study seeks to evaluate the effects of the US guest worker program on Jamaica, the home country, hotels in Jamaica, and guest workers from Jamaica. Data collection methods were designed for each of the three populations. Samples were randomly drawn from Jamaican government representatives in the USA and a structured telephone interview was designed. The questions for the interview were open ended and covered the process for recruiting and hiring guest workers, the impact of the guest worker program on the Jamaican economy, and advantages and disadvantages of the guest worker program. The interviews were conducted by telephone by the researchers.A random sample of managers in full-service resorts in Jamaica was selected and a structured telephone interview was designed. The interview questions were open ended and covered an estimate of the number of workers who leave for the guest worker program, the effects on their resort, and their overall view of the program. The interviews were conducted by telephone by the researchers.A random sample of guest workers from Jamaica working in the USA was selected and a questionnaire with structured responses was developed. Groups of H2B workers were assembled at three resorts where questionnaires were distributed by the research team. The resorts were selected based on the two types of programs used to recruit workers, government sponsored and independent agency. The questionnaire included questions on demographics, work and program history, and advantages and disadvantages of the guest worker program. Assistance with completing the questionnaire was provided by the researchers as requested. All three questionnaires were pre-tested for clarity to assure questions obtained the desired information and to give feedback as to whether the right questions are being asked to obtain the needed information. Also evaluated was the content of each question to make sure it was relevant to the respondent and that they had the knowledge to answer the question.Content analysis was used to identify key words in responses to open ended questions. Frequencies of key words and answers to fixed response questions were tabulated. Means for length of employment and participation in the guest worker program were calculated.\nFindings: The findings include results from a questionnaire completed by representatives of The Ministry of Labor office in Washington, DC that works, in \"partnership\" with the US government in the placement of temporary unskilled workers in the USA. This partnership was formed 65 years ago when Jamaicans were recruited as farm workers. The recruitment of H-2B hotel workers started around 20 years ago. These results are followed by the results of a second questionnaire to determine the perspective of hoteliers in Jamaica. The final data set are the results of a questionnaire completed by Jamaican workers in the USA working at three resorts on H2B visas.Jamaican government perspectives\nSummary and conclusions: The information received from the three groups affected by the US guest worker program indicates that while the program is beneficial to the USA due to a serious shortage of workers, not all groups in Jamaica are positively influenced by the program. Table I summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the program as viewed by three Jamaican groups: the government, hoteliers, and the workers. It is clear that the Jamaican government has made an investment in the guest worker program that has made a positive impact on the Jamaican economy. It is projected that this positive support will continue in the future. Some national governments, such as Jamaica, have developed a good system that benefits workers and employers. Investigation of the support from other governments and worker experience is warranted.It is evident that this program places a drain on Jamaican hotel industry. One can conclude that none of hoteliers are against the program as they see the benefit to workers and the economy. In addition, they can get workers who are well trained by US hotels. In the future, however, this program may have a serious effect on the Jamaican resort industry. In a recent presentation, the Minister of Jamaica Tourism projected the growth of hotel rooms from 30,000 currently to 45,000 in 2012. He noted that the tourism sector currently employs 80,000 with an additional 58,0000 needed in ten years (Bartlett, 2008). This increased demand for employees may have a negative impact on the guest worker program as increasing numbers of employees are needed in Jamaica. As both countries have incresing needs for workers, importing workers to the USA to supplement the workforce may create a tension between the two countries. The growth of Spanish hotels in Jamaica may increase the tension as these hoteliers may be forced to import their own labor to be able to operate in a tight Jamaican labor market. Additional research in the form of a follow-up study in five to seven years on the effects of the guest worker program on the Jamaican hotel industry would provide interesting data for evaluation of the program.Recruitment practices through outside agencies have some drawbacks. There is an economic drain for workers due to an advance payment that may range from $1,250 to $3,000. These workers are made promises by recruiters which are not met by US employers because the employers did not know the promises were made. Additional research to identify best practices used by US employers would provide results that would help employers, workers, and the government.The labor shortage in the hospitality industry is a global issue that will require new solutions in the future. The importing of unskilled labor may not be an effective solution in the future due to the increased demands for labor in the home country. The results of this study indicate that the major stakeholders in Jamaica are currently receiving benefits from the US guest worker program. However, the current benefits may not outweigh the costs as the need for employees in Jamaican hotels and resorts are projected to increase.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The effects of the US guest worker program on the home country have not been documented. Jamaica has been a popular source of employees for the hospitality industry. This paper aims to evaluate the effects of the US guest worker program on Jamaica, the Jamaican hotel industry, and Jamaican guest workers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Data from structured interviews with key persons in the Jamaican government, hoteliers in Jamaica, and Jamaican guest workers in the USA were analyzed to demonstrate the impact of this program from three viewpoints. Content analysis and frequency were the research methods that were used to analyze the findings.\nFindings: - Strong support for the workers by the Jamaican government was documented. While the Jamaican hoteliers are affected by a shortage of good workers, they accept the program because of the advantages to the workers and the economy. Advantages of the program from the workers' perspectives were the economic value of the program and the ability to learn about different cultures.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper's limitations include the small number of guest workers due to the limited accessibility. The value of the program to a small nation was documented.\nOriginality/value: - This topic is on the minds of lawmakers, employers, and workers yet there is no other documentation of the advantages and disadvantages of the program to the three groups.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Knowledge risk management in the public sector: insights into a Swedish municipality
|
[
"Public sector"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Public sector performance management has recently become more important primarily as a result of citizens demanding more transparency in government operations (Richards and Duxbury, 2015). Consequently, the public sector has to develop and deliver better and more cost-effective services thereby demonstrating a higher return on taxpayers' money (Riege and Lindsay, 2006). Knowledge management (KM) can play a critical role in this context, as having access to up-to-date knowledge can support the public sector in approaching present and future tasks. Other than just improving organizational effectiveness, KM is also well suited to tackle some challenges of the public sector, such as human capital loss because of employee turnover and increased knowledge stock and flow because of advances in information technology (IT) (Pee and Kankanhalli, 2016).\n2. Knowledge risk management: As mentioned above, knowledge is not per se valuable but in certain situations, it can be the opposite as well. Thus, to really understand knowledge, organizations (i.e. its representatives) need to carefully manage the downside risks of knowledge as well, as otherwise, they undergo significant risks, for example, loss of expertise or reinventing existing knowhow (Durst and Aisenberg Ferenhof, 2016).\n3. Research method: This paper is based on a single case study. A case study is a research strategy which focuses on understanding the dynamics present within single settings. It can involve either single or multiple cases and numerous levels of analysis. Case studies typically make use of a variety of data collection techniques such as documentation, interviews, questionnaires, observations and archival records (Burgess, 1984; Yin, 2009). According to Yin (2009), the application of a case study research design depends on three requirements proposed, namely, the enunciation of the \"how\" and \"why\" research questions, the researcher's control over events and the focus on a phenomenon within its real-life context. Against the background that an opportunity existed to investigate how a public organization risk manages its knowledge, a single case study approach was preferred to multiple-case studies. This situation provided the chance to study KRM from a real-time perspective rather than a retrospective one.\n4. Findings: In the following sections, the main findings of the three different data sources are presented.\n5. Discussion: The findings brought together suggest that the participants involved in the study believe that the offices should have a more structured approach to their knowledge activities in general.\n6. Implementing a knowledge risk management framework - a proposal: On the basis of the findings and the (limited) literature on KRM or knowledge risks, a KRM framework is proposed that intends to help managers or the people in charge to address present and forthcoming KRM challenges in municipalities such as waves of retirement, skills shortage but also the digital transformation. Although this study has focussed on the KRM practices of one Swedish local government, the authors of the paper are convinced that it has generated important insights that are likely to have relevance for other public organizations which are at the beginning of their KRM activities too.\n7. Conclusion: The present study provides rich insights into the practice of KRM in a Swedish municipality. More precisely, the present study investigated how two offices (service and community building) of this municipality address the issue of knowledge from a risk perspective. The authors of the paper argue that knowledge can take two forms: that of an asset and that of a liability. Retirement or knowledge gaps are examples of knowledge becoming or being a liability. Thus, any KM should involve risk management as well to get a balanced understanding of the knowledge that resides in the organization and based on this be in a better position to use the accessible knowledge at its best. KRM is a systematic way of applying tools and techniques to identify, analyse and respond to risks associated with the creation, application and retention of organizational knowledge (Durst et al., 2016).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to contribute to the understanding of knowledge risk management (KRM) and a range of related knowledge management practices in the public sector through a case study conducted in a Swedish municipality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A single case study was conducted in a Swedish municipality involving two offices. Data were collected through an online survey, group interviews and group exercises involving members of the offices who represented different functions, roles and age groups.\nFindings: The findings underline the need for a systematic approach to KRM for being in a position to continuously deliver the municipality's products and services, specifically against the knowledge challenges ahead. In addition, the authors identified a number of internal and external factors that are challenging KRM.\nResearch limitations/implications: Data were collected from a single case study, to generalize the findings future research should study additional local governments.\nPractical implications: A holistic KRM framework is proposed intended to help managers tackle present and future challenges in the public sector.\nOriginality/value: The study contributes to the underdeveloped field of KRM by providing insights into KRM and KRM-related activities found in a Swedish municipality.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The influence of Indian culture on negotiation from a French perspective
|
[
"India",
"Culture",
"Negotiation",
"France",
"International business",
"Cross-cultural"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: On July 11, 2018, according to the latest World Bank data, India became the world's sixth largest economic power, overtaking France and relegating it to seventh place. India's rise in power is inexorable according to Bloomberg and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, both of which estimate that India will rank third among the world's most powerful economies by 2032. With the economic reforms process and private companies gaining momemtum in the economy (Jaffrelot et al., 2019), many countries have stepped up their investments in India, especially France which has become a major trade partner, considering India an important market for its products and looking to increase the number of joint ventures and direct investments in and from India[1]. Given this geopolitical context, it is therefore to be expected that the volume of cross-cultural negotiations will continue to expand in the coming years in India. But contrary to what could be expected, it is surprising to observe that the literature on the negotiation process with India is still very sparse. Indeed, although researchers have documented negotiation techniques used by Indians (Kapoor, 1970; Kumar, 2005; Katz, 2008) and have addressed the difficulties that may be encountered during negotiations in India (Salacuse, 2003), there is very little information providing us with concrete answers on how Indians negotiate.\nLiterature review: In order to approach the subject of culture in a comprehensible way, it is important to start by defining what culture is, which is difficult because culture is a feature studied by many different disciplines and therefore has accumulated a large number of definitions. The most relevant for the field of this study are presented herein. This leads us first and foremost to Margaret Mead's (1964) definition of culture as \"a body of learned behaviours, a collection of beliefs, habits and traditions, which are shared by a group of people and successively learned by people who enter society,\" and Hofstede's (1991) definition of culture as \"the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.\"\nMethodology: A qualitative approach is best fitted to the objective of the research, i.e. to understand the negotiation process in India from a French perspective. A deep inductive analysis was conducted (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Expert profiles were defined according to the guidelines set out by Bogner et al. (2009). Since the authors were looking for process-related knowledge, they ascribed the title of \"expert\" to long-term French expatriates in India who have negotiated on a regular basis with Indians as part of their job. The profiles of these experts are presented in Table AI.\nResults: The analysis of the interviews revealed seven points on which Indian culture has an influence, leading to a change in the negotiation process: these are presented in the following table, then detailed and illustrated using verbatim phrases drawn from the interviews.\nDiscussion: The results obtained during the analysis of the interviews enabled an identification of seven main differences inherent to negotiations in India compared to those in France (see Table II). Hofstede and Trompenaars value frameworks shed a light on four of them. Some expected differences do not appear in the themes generated by the interview transcripts. Finally, three differences noted by respondants are not easily explained by cultural traits. Among them, the final seventh is original, and will require more investigation in future research.\nConclusion: The findings of this research offer constructive insights into the ways in which intercultural Indian-French negotiations are conducted. The stages of negotiations, as perceived by French experts and summarized in Figure 2, constitute an interesting framework for the practitioner who wants to conduct successful negotiations in India. Indeed, the need for an Indian acolyte appears from stage one to ease the social integration phase. The acceptance of a different perception of time and a potentially long duration of the negotiation leads to a specific negotiation process segmented into several consecutive rounds. The essence of these consecutive rounds consists of the patient weaving of relationships with the negotiator but also with the company's senior executives, and the progressive co construction of an agreement. In the final stage, the Indian party having had the upper hand regarding the way the negotiation was conducted, a shift in the power balance is possible with a combination of the support of the mediator, as well as a mix of perseverance and assertive behavior on the part of the French partner.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: With India becoming a strategic trading partner for France, the purpose of this paper is to identify and describe cultural differences between India and France in order to achieve three main objectives: What traits or values are salient for Indians when negotiating with French people? The second to assess the utility and appropriateness of cultural dimensions as described by Hofstede (1991, 2001) and Trompenaars (1993, 2004) to gain insight into this process, and finally to prepare a French businessman to negotiate with an Indian partner.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach is best to achieve the research objectives. Expert profiles were defined according to the guidelines set out by Bogner et al. (2009). Snowball sampling method was used, whereby the first French businessmen interviewed provided contacts of other negotiators. Six semi-directive interviews were conducted lasting 1 h and 30 min each. Data collection and analysis were carried out according to Gioia's proposed methodology (Gioia et al., 2013).\nFindings: This qualitative inquiry enabled a deep inductive analysis, resulting in the emergence of seven key characteristics of the negotiation process in India. Cultural dimensions as defined by Hofstede (1991, 2001) and Trompenaars (1993, 2004) are useful in explaining four of these. However, three other characteristics cannot be directly related to these cultural dimensions, and among them, the seventh characteristic, the importance of having an Indian mediator in the negotiation, emerges as an original and decisive advantage for the foreign partner.\nResearch limitations/implications: Interviewing a larger sample of experts would strengthen the precision, validity and reliability of the findings. Furthermore, investigating buyer-seller relationships and negotiation theories would help to gain an alternative and complementary insight into this complex topic.\nOriginality/value: Cultural differences between France and India are a poorly documented and under-researched topic.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Exploring adaptability in organizations: Where adaptive advantage comes from and what it is based upon
|
[
"Adaptability",
"Organizational change",
"Strategic planning",
"Innovation culture",
"Organizational evolution"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: A prominent feature of today's economy is the consistence of fast change. Such a rapidly shifting market requires flexible firms and a theoretical background to guide managerial decision making. In this respect, many strategy studies are following this development post-factum, not only attempting to forecast it by responding to that very change but to create it. This approach is otherwise known as adaptive advantage (Reeves et al., 2010).\n2. A new competitive setting: The market environment has changed in a way that traditional strategy theory no longer serves in order to prepare organizations for the future competitive setting. Basic external parameters are shifting at an unprecedented speed - technology, politics, environment, social tendencies, customer habits and business models. The sharing of information made possible by the development of IT has made organizational change and social change increasingly unpredictable (Hatch, 1991). This turbulence provides little reliable information because forecasting future scenarios depends less on current the state and this, as Celly and Frazier (1996) have noted, has led to \"causal-ambiguity\" (Celly and Frazier, 1996). When the external environment becomes more turbulent and less predictable, organizations need to adjust to meet the challenge and align their internal resources with external demand in an attempt to enhance firm growth and survival. The recent economic crisis, which provoked significant changes in stock markets, position of governments and access to credit and customer concerns have contributed to the modification of the benchmarks from which decision makers were accustomed. McGrath (2013), in her very appropriately titled publication The End of Competitive Advantage, uses the term \"Transient Competitive Advantage\" in order to refer to ever, shorter phases of competitive advantage. According to this McGrath, the hypercompetitive environment has made obsolete most of the conventional perspectives on strategy (Porter's 5 Forces Analysis, BCGs Matrix or the SWOT Analysis), requiring a new set of tools for strategy formulation. There seems to be consensus among researchers that generally held assumptions, such as the sequential planning process, analysis of the environment or reliance on certain key resources, are no longer reliable in order to develop a successful strategic outlook (Reeves and Deimler, 2011; McGrath, 2013; Hamel, 2007; Akgun et al., 2013).\n3. Adaptability: 3.1 Organizational ecology and the evolutionary perspective\n4. Adaptive advantage: As seen, adaptability addresses the organization - environment relationship and the achievement of fit between an organization's external environment and its internal organizational structure, rooted in the environment-based view and dynamic capabilities theory (Burns and Stalker, 1961). The dimensions that describe and measure adaptability differ substantially in the literature. As means of a brief description, adaptability is the organization's capacity to engage in internal change in response to external conditions (Denison and Mishra, 1995). According to other strategic theorists, adaptability is the ability to adjust to changes in the external environment in order to maintain organizational viability (Child, 1972; Miles et al., 1978). Further examples are present in the detailed descriptions of Angle and Perry's (1981) work, who propose that adaptability resides in different abilities: the ability to anticipate problems, to keep up with changes and consider new ways of doing things, the ability to adjust to changes quickly and the ability to cope with crises.\n5. Methodology: Based on the exposed revision of theories leading to the concept of adaptability, the following model has been developed:\n6. Findings and conclusions: The results will be presented one element at a time, followed by a conclusion including all factors. Table I shows the characteristics of the results, with the ICS in the first column, followed by the CSI and lastly the accumulated experience. It is to note that the dispersion of the sample is relatively high for all values, which will be discussed in more detail henceforth.\n7. Limitations and future research: The presented study could have benefitted from a larger number of responses, in order to be more representative in its conclusions. It makes a description of a particular case, which excludes other measures commonly associated with performance, such as capital expenditure, assets, market share or operational expenditure.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of a new perspective on adaptive strategy design. It examines the concept of adaptive advantage, as such a new perspective, and seeks to improve its understanding and application. The study of its origins leads to a solid comprehension of the concept and the proposal of a certain company profile. This could serve as a foundation for further research and as benchmark for companies trying to be more responsive to change and ultimately more resilient.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Three theories of the area of adaptability, namely, organization ecology, corporate demography and complexity-based thinking, have been studied conducting a review of the relevant literature of each one. After drawing out the individual contributions, a definition of adaptive advantage is offered and the question about its implementation in an organization is posed. Consequently, indicators of the three elements impacting adaptability, innovation culture, decision-making style and accumulated experience are measured in a sample of \"old\" and innovative firms. In order to do so, three questionnaires have been used, resulting in a case description of an archetype of adaptive companies.\nFindings: It is shown that the expected elements are present, but in a lesser degree than expected. In conclusion, the trial study shows a pattern of \"old,\" innovative firms, whose cultures promote innovation, are analytic and adaptive in their decision making and have relatively high levels of accumulated experience.\nOriginality/value: This general review improves the comprehension of a complex concept currently under debate in the field of strategic planning. It explains the areas of the firm implicated in the achievement of adaptive advantage and tries to clarify a practical application of the concept.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
GSCM: practices, trends and prospects in Indian context
|
[
"Green operations",
"Green supply chain management",
"Green core competence",
"Green design"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Increased industrialization and ever growing consumerism has led to a situation where industrial pursuits of mankind have started to cast an unfavourable impact on environment that may prove self-destructive for the former. Developed countries, in their pursuit of economic development and progression to their current economic status, showed little respect for environmental concerns, earlier. But as on today, there is an increased awareness on part of their industries, governments and even consumers for conserving environment and cutting down on pollution. Conversely, industries in developing nations are not so sensitive towards the cause of conserving the environment, and thus there is greater need of adoption of GSCM practices. They are in a race for faster economic growth and their economies are booming owing to rapid industrial expansion. This has led to a situation where they are emerging as top polluters of the world for tomorrow. China has been at forefront amongst developing countries, when it comes to harm caused to environment for the sake of industrial growth. India also has shown little respect towards environmental conservation while pursuing for economic growth. But there is now a glimmer of hope, as India, like other developing nations, is slowly waking up to the necessity and gains of GSCM practices. Nevertheless, it is just a beginning and there is a long, long-way to go. In the wake of this, it is required to introduce environmental friendly practices in industrial supply chains to ensure that there is no degradation of environment; coupled with materialization of economic gains. The growing awareness for environmental concerns led to adoption of GSCM, which though, of relatively recent origin has gained worldwide popularity and recognition in a brief time period. In Indian context, during the last few years, hundreds of studies have been carried out on the subject, addressing the various facets of the concept. This has led to establishment of various generic/specific laws, identification of previously unknown parameters associated with its implications and the possibilities that GSCM holds for future improvements in manufacturing and supply chain execution.\n2. Literature review: There is relative dearth of unanimity in defining the nature and scope of Green supply chain Management (GSCM) as its building blocks, i.e. Corporate Environmental Management and supply chain management are themselves in their nascent stages of evolution. Nevertheless, in general, GSCM deals with adoption and implementation of environmental friendly means while executing various actions in the progression of a supply chain. GSCM is a holistic terms that involves within itself concepts like Green Purchasing, Green Manufacturing/Materials Management, Green Distribution, Green Marketing, Waste Management and reverse logistics (RL).\n3. Research methods and directions: The study is aimed at exploring the various facets of GSCM in Indian context; which makes it exploratory in nature. It has purposely focused on addressing common aspects of GSCM; and thus refrained from laying emphasis on any peculiar aspect of any particular industry. The approach of undertaking a survey would have been more suitable, if the study was aimed at eliciting responses from a small target group. A case study could have been ideal, if the subject had revolved around a certain small operational domain. That not being the case, literature review was undertaken to gather a holistic view of the most accurate and most reliable facts on the subject. The research approach encompasses the study of the most rudimentary aspects of the main theme of research. Major drivers of GSCM were identified, and their present status was traced in context of Indian settings and those of other important industrial nations across the globe. The status of India's adoption and implementation of GSCM was juxtaposed with those of Chinese and US firms; and parallels as well as commonalities, were drawn.\n4. Conclusion: As Indian economy expands to new frontiers, the industrial activity in the country braces itself for manifold growth, fuelling fears of adverse impact on environment. The industrial growth of the country cannot be compromised at any cost; and this causes genuine concerns for the conservation of environment in the midst of all ensuing industrial growth. Nevertheless, in contrary to the general belief that economic development has a direct correlation with the environmental degradation, GSCM offers a glimmer of hope on the front of developing eco-friendly supply chains across various industrial sectors.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Environmental friendliness, in context of industrial operations, is an issue that has evoked much interest among environmentalists, governments, academicians and other sections of society in recent times. The said development has been more profound and broad-based in developed economies of the world, though, the trend is catching fast in developing countries, as well. Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is a management technique that aims to make a supply chain eco-friendly, without diluting the organizational objectives. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the scale of adoption and implementation of GSCM practices in the context of Indian industries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The investigation used literature review approach to determine the current status of implementation of GSCM by Indian industry, and associated aspects of the same. Literature pertaining to the subject in context of non-Indian industries has also been studied for the purpose of rudimentary knowledge on the management concept, as well for comparing the measures taken by foreign-based companies with Indian ones.\nFindings: The study shows that in general, Indian companies are lacking on the front of adoption and implementation of GSCM measures in their supply chains. Though, certain companies are showing appreciable enthusiasm for the eco-friendly concept, the same does not apply to majority of the Indian enterprises, owing to a multitude of factors. GSCM has the potential to drive economic gains, and can act as a big motivator for companies to go green. As India leaps towards higher levels of industrialization and economic growth, GSCM becomes more of a necessity rather than an option for Indian companies to survive the competition.\nPractical implications: Findings from this study helps in discerning the present status of GSCM in the country, and assess the same in comparison to that of developed countries. The findings will also help the firms to have a greater understanding of their current standing and the possible gains that can accrue by adoption of GSCM practices in real. The philosophy, stance and endeavours of government with respect to GSCM has also been spelt out in the paper. The paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on various aspects of GSCM in the country and the trajectory that it will chart in future.\nOriginality/value: The paper though, brings forth the findings of other researches on the subject of GSCM practices in India in a consolidated manner, yet its value is reflected in the cohesive manner in which contrary findings have been analysed to present a comprehensive and holistic picture of GSCM implementation in India. An attempt has been made not only to assess the inputs of individual firms, but also of government and other stakeholders in their efforts to make supply chains more environment friendly.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Polish and UK doctors' engagement with hospital management
|
[
"Engagement",
"Doctors",
"Market reform",
"Health systems",
"Medical manager roles"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: European health systems have undergone considerable change in recent decades, in terms of the way in which they fund, provide and govern services (Smith et al., 2012). Mechanic and Roquefort (1996) have argued that whilst health systems are converging in their responses to similar technological, economic, demographic and scientific challenges, they are likely to exhibit differences due to their individual historical, political and social characteristics. Others support this, finding differences between countries based on their historical arrangements and the way in which professional groups respond to change (Kuhlmann et al., 2009; Leicht et al., 2009). The role that doctors, as a dominant professional group, play in relation to the management of health systems has been a source of great interest across nations (Dent, 2003; Jacobs, 2005; Kirkpatrick et al., 2011; Saario, 2012).\n2. Methodology: Utilising a framework developed by Kirkpatrick et al. (2012) we began by reviewing Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and World Health Organisation documents, to identify factors potentially impacting on the development of medical manager roles. These included: first, the overall structure, funding and expenditure on health by the two countries; and second, the organisation, training and contractual arrangements of doctors. A focused but thorough review of the healthcare management, policy and sociology of the professions literature was then conducted (Charmaz, 2006) using ABI Global, EBSCO Business Source Premier and Medline databases. The title and abstracts of seemingly relevant articles were initially read through for relevance.\n3. The UK and Polish health systems: The UK National Health Service (NHS) came into effect in 1948. It continues to be based on the original Beveridge model of a publically funded (via taxation) service, providing universal coverage, free at the point of use. Doctors were initially co-opted into the system from private practice, with guarantees of clinical autonomy (Kirkpatrick et al., 2005), and were involved in the running of hospitals, as dominant members of decision-making teams, until the late 1970s (Harrison and Pollitt, 1994; Ackroyd, 1996). In Poland, until 1989 the country was under communist rule and the Siemaszko model prevailed, with central government responsible for providing a universal health service, free at the point of use. Doctors held clinical decision-making roles within hospitals, but like other professionals during this period they were poorly paid and their collective power was weakened, by virtue of physician chambers being banned (Dent, 2003).\n4. Findings: Overall, we found that doctors hold similar medical management roles in both countries. At executive level, while they may be CEOs, the role is not the preserve of doctors. Polish informants suggested that the CEO role there is increasingly held by non-medical personnel, and a recent report in the UK (Ham et al., 2010) suggests that only around 5 per cent of CEOs there are medically qualified. In contrast, the medical director role in both countries is the preserve of a doctor, and also a board-level position. In the UK their influence appears to vary, with some medical directors having input into strategic decision making and others acting in a more advisory capacity (Kirkpatrick et al., 2009), as they do in Poland.\n5. Conclusions and potential implications: This study found that Polish and UK hospital doctors hold similar types of management roles, albeit with differing levels of responsibility and accountability, particularly with regard to financial affairs. However, there are signs that participation in and enthusiasm for management is undergoing change in both countries.\n6. Limitations and future research opportunities: While our study suggests that medical engagement with management is changing in both systems, further work is needed. In Poland, OECD reports support some of what experts were telling us, but more work is needed to verify all the changes reported. We need to understand the extent to which younger doctors with a more managerial skill set are taking on management roles, and how far this is explained by a decline in interest amongst older doctors and/or by new appointing practices. We also need to understand the motivations of doctors now taking on these roles. For example, whether they are motivated by factors such as the opportunity for broader experience in order to further their clinical career, or by power and the opportunity to increase their income, in the way their predecessors reportedly were, and indeed whether these motivations are mutually exclusive. The extent to which other professionals, such as nurses, are moving into management roles also needs to be explored.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a short research project, conducted in 2010 as part of a larger EU funded action investigating the participation and impact of doctors in management. The authors sought to compare the ways in which hospital doctors in the UK and Poland - countries with distinct histories - participate in management; whether they are converging and whether the type of participation found results from changes in the governance and management of these systems.\nDesign/methodology/approach: First, a review of existing evidence and an analysis of policy documents and healthcare statistics were conducted. Identifying a lack of empirical data in the Polish context, and a potentially changing situation in the UK, the authors proceeded to collect some exploratory data in Poland, via interviews with expert informants, and to draw on data collected alongside this study in the UK from qualified doctors participating in research on management and leadership development.\nFindings: Hospital doctors currently hold similar types of management role in both systems, but there are signs that change is underway. In Poland, different types of medical manager and role are now emerging, whereas in the UK younger doctors appear to be expecting greater management responsibility in the future, and are starting to take up the management training now on offer.\nResearch limitations/implications: The potential implications of these changes for the profession and policymakers in both Poland and the UK are discussed, with opportunities for further research highlighted.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides a comparison of how medical engagement within two systems with different histories is occurring, and also of the changes underway. It provides some much needed initial insight via interviews with expert informants within the polish system, which has been under-researched in relation to the involvement of medicine in management.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Reducing preventable harm: observations on minimizing bloodstream infections
|
[
"Quality improvement",
"Patient safety",
"Improvement science",
"Preventable harm",
"Bloodstream infections"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: It is 17 years since the Institute of Medicine published To Err is Human (Kohn et al., 1999). Progress in reducing patient harm remains patchy. One encouraging example is the dramatic reduction of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in intensive care units (ICU) in the USA. Over the 17-year period since 1999, rates of these serious and sometimes lethal infections have declined by 80 percent in US adult and pediatric ICUs (Pronovost et al., 2016a). A plausible explanation for the welcome improvement is a range of policy interventions that drove change in both organizational and individual behaviors through payment, incentive, and regulatory pressures. Macro-level stimulus alone, however, is not enough - local efforts and engagement of frontline health care personnel are essential to make changes like this happen (Herzer and Pronovost, 2015). This essay refines an existing theory of how successful organizations reduced preventable harm, drawing from the literature and experiences to describe interventions that highly successful hospitals implemented to sustain reductions in CLABSIs and to organize them in a framework (Table I). These practices may be transferable to other improvement efforts.\nLearning from experience: Based on the authors experiential learning while facilitating efforts in thousands of hospitals seeking to minimize CLABSIs (Berenholtz et al., 2004, 2014; Latif et al., 2015; Lipitz-Snyderman et al., 2011; Marsteller et al., 2012; Palomar et al., 2013; Pronovost et al., 2006, 2010, 2016b), they propose that the real change happened through a mixture of interventions, including a reliable and valid measurement system, federal dollars invested in defining evidence-based care practices and advancing implementation science, and alignment of all stakeholder efforts around a common goal and measures (Pronovost et al., 2016a, b). Also critical was local ownership of the work and establishment of peer learning communities to share information and disseminate effective solutions (Dixon-Woods et al., 2011).\nFramework of interventions: Hospitals able to reduce and sustain low infection rates shared the following four common interventions: declared and communicated goals, created an enabling infrastructure, engaged clinicians and established peer learning communities, and created a shared accountability system with transparent reporting. Table II organizes these interventions in a framework by implementation partners and their roles for each intervention.\nConclusion: The significant and sustained reductions in ICU CLABSI were not simply due to a checklist. Rather, successful organizations employed specific and systematic interventions from the board to the bedside; declaring and communicating goals, creating an enabling infrastructure, engaging clinicians and connecting them in peer learning communities, reporting data transparently, and creating accountability (Table I). These are the common elements that will be important to consider for preventing other healthcare-acquired infections beyond CLABSI.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a practical framework that health care organizations could use to decrease preventable healthcare-acquired harms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An existing theory of how hospitals succeeded in reducing rates of central line-associated bloodstream infections was refined, drawing from the literature and experiences in facilitating improvement efforts in thousands of hospitals in and outside the USA.\nFindings: The following common interventions were implemented by hospitals able to reduce and sustain low infection rates. Hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) leaders demonstrated and vocalized their commitment to the goal of zero preventable harm. Also, leaders created an enabling infrastructure in the way of a coordinating team to support the improvement work to prevent infections. The team of hospital quality improvement and infection prevention staff provided project management, analytics, improvement science support, and expertise on evidence-based infection prevention practices. A third intervention assembled Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program teams in ICUs to foster local ownership of the improvement work. The coordinating team also linked unit-based safety teams in and across hospital organizations to form clinical communities to share information and disseminate effective solutions.\nPractical implications: This framework is a feasible approach to drive local efforts to reduce bloodstream infections and other preventable healthcare-acquired harms.\nOriginality/value: Implementing this framework could decrease the significant morbidity, mortality, and costs associated with preventable harms.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Knowledge sharing and affective commitment: the mediating role of psychological ownership
|
[
"Innovation",
"Knowledge sharing",
"Knowledge management",
"Human resource management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Fixed graphic\n1. Introduction: Knowledge sharing has been well documented as a vital way for firms to develop skills and competences to stay competitive (Grant, 1996; Spender, 1996; Liu and Liu, 2011; Ramirez and Li, 2009). It is a prerequisite for innovation, as ideas or concepts rely on effective knowledge sharing among employees to be converted and applied at the organisational level for the development of new products, services and processes (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1996; Nonaka et al., 2006). Nevertheless, knowledge sharing might potentially evoke conflicts of interest among individuals (Krogh et al., 1994; Nonaka et al., 2006; Davenport et al., 1998; Liu and DeFrank, 2012). Firms, therefore, are always on the lookout for tools or systems that can overcome organisational and individual barriers, enabling employees to share knowledge effectively so as to improve innovation performance (Schwaer et al., 2012).\n2. Theoretical development: 2.1 Affective commitment and psychological ownership\n3. Research methodology and variable construction: 3.1 Sample and procedures\n4. Analysis and results: Table I reports the means, standard deviations, correlations and reliability coefficients of variables examined in this research. The reliability coefficients suggest that the internal consistency of all scales reached an acceptable level. The correlation table indicates that affective commitment and OPO were highly correlated (r = 0.78). These correlations were not inconsistent with previous studies. Although highly correlated (r = 0.44), common knowledge sharing and key knowledge sharing can receive different effects from antecedents. Rather than combining them as a single knowledge sharing construct, which may produce potentially biased results, the authors examined them separately. Moreover, the high correlation suggests a positive association between these two types of knowledge sharing, providing support for the prediction in H6a.\n5. Discussion: In this study, the authors connected affective commitment with knowledge sharing. More specifically, the authors introduced two types of psychological ownership, i.e. OPO and KPO, as mediators for the relationships between affective commitment and both common knowledge sharing and key knowledge sharing. Consistent with the authors' arguments, affective commitment was positively related to OPO, which was in line with prior studies (Van Dyne and Pierce, 2004). The results support the notion that affective commitment is an antecedent variable of OPO, which extends the existing literature on affective commitment and psychological ownership (Brooks and Wallace, 2006). The prediction that OPO mediates the relationship between affective commitment and both common and key knowledge sharing was also supported. This result indicated that affective commitment stimulates employees' altruistic spirit through their psychological ownership of the organisation and then affects knowledge sharing. It also extends prior studies that place affective commitment as a direct antecedent variable of knowledge sharing. More importantly, the authors conducted a nested model analysis in which the authors tested the direct effect of affective commitment on knowledge sharing after controlling for the mediating effect of psychological ownership. The results suggest that none of these direct effects was significant. Hence, the authors argue that the relationship between affective commitment and knowledge sharing is much more complicated than understood in previous studies, and that OPO is a critical mediator that transfers the positivity of affective commitment to knowledge sharing.\n6. Conclusion: 6.1 Brief summary of the paper's findings\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the meditating role of psychological ownership which includes both organisation-based psychological ownership (OPO) and knowledge-based psychological ownership (KPO) on the relationship between affective commitment and knowledge sharing.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper is an empirical study based on structural equation modelling, with a sample of 293 employees from 31 high-technology firms in China.\nFindings: The result indicated that affective commitment had a significant positive effect on OPO but no effect on KPO; OPO was positively related to both common and key knowledge sharing, while KPO exerted a negative impact on both; common knowledge sharing was positively related to key knowledge sharing; the relationship between affective commitment and key knowledge sharing was multi-mediated by OPO and common knowledge sharing.\nOriginality/value: OPO and KPO play an essential role in transferring the effect of employees' affective commitment to common knowledge sharing and key knowledge sharing, which unravels the blackbox of how effective commitment affects knowledge sharing.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Stochastic performance evaluation for multi-task processing system with software availability model
|
[
"Tests and testing",
"Computer software",
"Markov processes",
"Process management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: For the last few decades, the stochastic modeling for software reliability/availability measurement and assessment in the dynamic environment such as the testing phase of the software development or the user operation phase has been much discussed (Lyu, 1996; Tokuno and Yamada, 2003; Yamada, 2002). On the other hand, performance evaluation methods for fault-tolerant computing systems have been proposed. These have often been discussed from the viewpoints of the hardware configuration. Beaudry (1978) has proposed the performance-related measures such as the computation availability and the mean computation between failures. Meyer (1980) has proposed the performability taking account of accomplishment levels from the customer's viewpoint. Nakamura and Osaki (1984) have classified the lost jobs caused by processor failure and by cancellation. Sols (1997) has introduced the concept of degraded availability. However, the above studies have not included the characteristics peculiar to software systems such as the software reliability growth process.In this paper, we propose the software performance evaluation method based on the number of tasks. Most of the existing techniques for software performance/quality evaluation related to reliability have paid attention to only the states of the systems themselves such as the software failure-occurrence phenomenon and have no consideration for the external factors, for example, the frequency of the occurrence of usage demands for the system and the stochastic characteristic of customer's usage time. Here, we attempt to discuss the software performance evaluation from the viewpoint of the task processing. We consider what we call the multi-task software system which can be process the plural tasks simultaneously. We assume that the cumulative number of tasks arriving at the system follows the homogeneous Poisson process. The software failure-occurrence phenomenon and the restoration characteristic in the dynamic environment are described by the Markovian software availability model (Tokuno and Yamada, 2000a). The stochastic behavior of the number of tasks whose processes can be complete is modeled with the infinite-server queuing model (Ross, 1970). From the model, we derive several quantities for software performance measurement related to the task processing.The organization of the paper is shown as follows. The next section states the software availability model used in the paper. In the section of Model description, the stochastic processes of the numbers of tasks whose processes are complete and canceled out of the tasks arriving up to a given time point are described. In the section of Software performance measures, several software performance measures based on the number of tasks are derived. Numerical examples of the measures are presented and the software performance analyses are examined in the section of Numerical examples. In the final section, we state the conclusion of the paper.\nSoftware availability model: We use the software availability model proposed by Tokuno and Yamada (2000a) to describe the software reliability growth process and the restoration characteristic. In particular, this model can describe the imperfect debugging environment where all of debugging activities do not succeed the removal of faults and contribute the decrease in hazard rate. The following assumptions are made for software availability modeling:* AI-1. The software system is unavailable and starts to be restored as soon as a software failure occurs, and the system cannot operate until the restoration action is complete.* AI-2. The restoration action implies the debugging activity; this is performed perfectly with the perfect debugging rate a(0 < a<=1) and imperfectly with probability b(=1-a). One fault is corrected and removed from the software system when the debugging activity is perfect. On the other hand, when the debugging activity is imperfect, no faults are removed and the hazard rate does not decrease.* AI-3. The time intervals of software failures, Xn, and restorations, Vn, when n faults have already been corrected from the system, follow the exponential distributions with means 1/ln and 1/mn, respectively. ln and mn are non-increasing functions of n.The state space of the stochastic process {X(t), t>=0} representing the state of the software system at the time point t is defined as follows:Wn: the system is operating;\nModel description: We make the following assumptions for system's task processing:* AII-1. The number of tasks the system can process simultaneously is sufficiently large.* AII-2. The process {N(t),t>=0} representing the number of tasks arriving at the system up to the time t follows the homogeneous Poisson process with the arrival rate th.* AII-3. When the system causes a software failure before the processes of tasks do not finish, the tasks are canceled.* AII-4. Each of the processing times of tasks is independent.Figure 2 illustrates the configuration of the system's task processing.Let {Z(t),t>=0} be the random variable representing the cumulative number of tasks whose processes can be complete out of the tasks arriving up to the time t. By conditioning with {N(t)=k}, we obtain the probability mass function of Z(t) as: Equation 10 Let Y and F(t) be the random variable representing the processing time of a task and the distribution function of Y, respectively. Given that {X(t)=Wn}, the probability that the process of an arbitrary task is complete is given by: Equation 11 where f(t) = dF(t)/dt is the probability density function of Y. Furthermore, the arrival time of an arbitrary task out of ones arriving up to the time t is distributed uniformly over the time interval (0, t] (Ross (1970)). Therefore, the probability that the process of the task having arrived up to the time t is complete is obtained as: Equation 12 Then from assumption AII-4: Equation 13 That is, given that {N(t) =k}, the number of tasks whose processes can be complete follows the binomial process with mean kp(t). Accordingly, from (10) the distribution of Z(t) is given by: Equation 14 Equation (14) means that Z(t) follows the non-homogeneous Poisson process with the mean value function thtp(t).Let {W(t),t>=0} be the random variable representing the cumulative number of tasks whose processes are interrupted out of the tasks arriving up to the time t. Then we can apply the same discussion as above to the derivation of the distribution of W(t), i.e. we can obtain Pr{W(t) =j} as: Equation 15 Equation 16\nSoftware performance measures: The expected numbers of tasks completable and incompletable out of the tasks arriving at the time t are given by: Equation 17 Equation 18 respectively.Furthermore, the instantaneous task completion and incompletion ratios are given by: Equation 19 Equation 20 respectively. These represent the ratios of the numbers of tasks completed and cancelled to one of tasks arriving at the system per unit time at the time point t.As to p(t) in Equation (12) and q(t) in Equation (16), we can give the following interpretations: Equation 21 Equation 22 That is, p(t) and q(t) are the cumulative task completion and incompletion ratios in the time interval (0, t], respectively. We note that p(t) and q(t) have no bearing on the arrival rate of the task th\nNumerical examples: We show several numerical examples of software performance analysis. Here we apply the model of Moranda (1979) to the hazard rate ln[?]Dcn(D>0,0<c<1) and the restoration rate mn[?]Ern(E>0,0<r<=1), respectively.We can estimate the model parameters associated with ln and mn, using the actual data sets on the software failure and the restoration times. However, we show the numerical examples based on the simulated data set (see Table I) generated from the data cited by Goel and Okumoto (1979).ol's(1=1,2, ... ,26) in Table I have been recorded as the time intervals between the (l - 1)-st and the l-th software failure-occurrences. Here, we assume that each of ol's contains both of the operable time interval gl and the inoperable time interval dl, i.e. ol=gl+dl(l=1,2, ... ,26). For each ol, we generate a random number xl following the beta distribution BETA(d1, d2), whose density function is given by: Equation 23 Then we set gl=xlol and dl=ol-gl. Table I summarizes the data set generated by BETA(8, 2).We mention the estimation method of parameters D and c in ln and E and r in mn. Let Gl(l=1,2,...) be the random variable representing the operable time interval between the (l - 1)-st and the l-th software failures. We should note that Gl is different from the random variable Xl-1. However, the hazard rate of Gl can be approximated as: Equation 24 which means that Gl can be regarded as distributed exponentially (see Tokuno and Yamada (2000b)). Then the logarithmic likelihood function when m operable time intervals gl(l=1,2, ... ,m) are observed is given by: Equation 25 The maximum-likelihood estimates D^ and c^ for the unknown parameters in ln can be obtained by solving the simultaneous likelihood equations [?]1nL/[?]D=[?]1nL/[?]c=0, i.e: Equation 26 Equation 27 which can be solved numerically.As to the estimation of the parameters associated with mn, we can apply the procedure similar to the preceding discussion. That is, when m inoperable time intervals dl(l=1,2, ... ,m) are observed, the maximum-likelihood estimates E^ and r^ for the unknown parameters in mn can be obtained by solving the following simultaneous likelihood equations: Equation 28 Equation 29 which can be solved numerically.The maximum-likelihood estimates for the data set in Table I are obtained as: Equation 30 respectively, where we set a=0.8.For the processing time of a task, we apply the gamma distribution of order 2 given by: Equation 31 where the mean processing time of a task is E[y] =2/a and bn=[a/(ln+a)]2. Figure 3 shows the time-dependent behaviors of the instantaneous task completion ratio, h(t), in Equation (19) and the instantaneous task incompletion ratio, m(t), in Equation (20) along with the instantaneous software availability, A(t), in Equation (8). This figure tells us that h(t) and m(t) converge to 1 and zero, respectively, and that h(t) gives more pessimistic evaluation than the past measure (A(t)) which can be regarded as the measure without consideration of the task processing time. This reason is that this model considers that it takes a time duration to finish a task. This result is obvious in terms of the structures of the equations, i.e: Equation 32 For the relationship between p(t) and Aav(t), we can have the same discussion.Figure 4 shows h(t) for various values of the perfect debugging rate, a, where we assume a=10.0, i.e. the mean processing time of a task is 0.2. h(t) drops rapidly just after the initial operation and then increases gradually with time. h(Dt)[?]b0PW0(Dt) during the small time-interval of the initial operation (0,Dt] since the probability that two or more software failures occur over (0,Dt] can be negligible. Furthermore, PW0(Dt] is approximately equal to the reliability function of the first software failure-occurrence, i.e. PW0(Dt)[?]e-l0Dt. Accordingly, h(t) behaves as shown in Figure 4. We can give the similar explanation for the time-dependent behavior of p(t). We can also see that software performance also becomes higher with the increasing a, in other words, as the debugging ability becomes higher.Figure 5 shows the dependence of the cumulative task completion ratio, p(t), in (12) on a. This figure indicates that the probability that a task processing can be completed becomes higher with the increasing a since the larger a means that the processing time of a task becomes shorter and the possibility that a task processing finishes before a software failure occurs rises.Let h0 and p0 be the objectives of h(t) and p(t), respectively. Then we can find the testing times t= th satisfying h(t) =h0 and t= tp satisfying p(t) =p0. The solid horizontal straight lines in Figures 4 and 5 designate the examples of the objectives, h0 =0.86 and p0 =0.84, respectively. According to the cited data, the testing termination time is: Equation 33 In Figure 4, if we estimate that the perfect debugging rate a is larger than 0.8, then we can judge that the objective of the software performance measure is satisfied at the testing termination time. On the other hand, if we estimate a as 0.7, 0.6, or 0.5, then we need the additional 6-, 49-, or 109-day testing time to satisfy the objective. Tables II and III summarize th's and tp's, respectively, for various values of a and a. We can see that it takes longer time to satisfy the objectives of software performance as the debugging ability becomes lower and the processing time of a task becomes longer.\nConcluding remarks: In this paper, we have discussed the software performance measurement based on the number of tasks. The stochastic behavior peculiar to the software system such as software reliability growth process, the upward tendency of difficulty in debugging, and the imperfect debugging environment have been described by the Markovian availability model. Assuming that the cumulative number of the tasks arriving at the system up to a given time point follows the homogeneous Poisson process, we have analyzed the distribution of the number of tasks whose processes can be complete with the concept of the infinite-server queuing model. From the model, we have derived several software performance measures such as the expected numbers of completable and incompletable tasks, the instantaneous task completion and incompletion ratios, and the task completion and incompletion probabilities per task. We have also illustrated the several numerical examples of these measures. It has been meaningful to correlate the software reliability characteristics with software performance measurement.The unknown parameters must be estimated based on the actual data. But in the present circumstances, it is too difficult to observe and collect the debugging time data. To equip the collection procedure of the restoration times and to establish of practical estimation of the model parameters characterizing the restoration and the processing times remain future studies.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper seeks to provide new stochastic measures for evaluating software reliability and performance characteristics comprehensively.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The time-dependent behavior of the software system itself alternating between operable and inoperable states is described by a Markov process. Then several software performance measures when the arrival process of tasks follows a homogeneous Poisson process can be derived with the infinite-server queuing theory.\nFindings: - Provides a new evaluation method for understanding software reliability-related performance quantitatively. Presents a way to decide the testing time duration to satisfy the software performance requirement based on the model.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Production of the reasonable method for deciding the model parameters characterizing the processing time and the arrival process of the task remains as future study.\nPractical implications: - Most of the past models have paid attention only to the software failure-occurrence phenomenon. On the other hand, this model includes the software restoration and the task-processing characteristics as well and can evaluate customer-oriented quality. In software project management, this model can provide more useful and comprehensive information than before for software development managers.\nOriginality/value: - This paper introduces the concept of performability into the stochastic software reliability modeling and provides new quantitative evaluation measures considering reliability and performance simultaneously.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
What's in a relationship? Affective commitment, bonding and the tertiary first year experience - a student and faculty perspective
|
[
"First year experience",
"Higher education",
"Student retention",
"Engagement",
"Student-university relationship",
"Student-faculty relationship",
"Bonding",
"Affective commitment"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: First year attrition accounts for almost half of all attrition at the tertiary level (Willcoxson et al., 2011; Pattengale, 2000). In addition, in Australia, student satisfaction surveys report that some 30 per cent of students are not completely satisfied with their experience in the first year of their program (James et al., 2010). Common reasons cited for dissatisfaction amongst first year tertiary students include an inability to cope with the transitional phase between college and tertiary education, inability to integrate into the new environment, a lack of formal and informal support from teaching and administrative staff, financial pressures that are associated with balancing study loads with employment, and unfulfilled expectations during the academic experience (ACER, 2013; Nelson et al., 2012). The first year of the tertiary experience is arguably therefore the most important period for student retention since more than half of the students who drop out, do so in their first year of a tertiary program (Starke et al., 2001). High student drop-out rates and mediocre levels of student satisfaction are likely to have a significant impact upon retention behaviours including recommendation and return, and ultimately this will negatively impact institutional reputation. It is therefore important that institutions first, recognise that the first year presents one of the greatest hurdles to academic success and second, that it implements a series of systematic strategies to improve the first year experience, and the levels of student satisfaction associated with it (Tinto, 1993; Helgesen, 2008).\nTheoretical framework: Student retention and the role of relationship marketing\nResearch approach: The present study adopted a discovery orientation. Informants were selected on a convenience basis from first year students undertaking a large undergraduate unit at a metropolitan Australian university. These students were enrolled in a variety of degree specializations including for example, commerce, accounting, law, arts, linguistics, media, language, psychology, and science. A total of four focus groups and eight in-depth interviews were conducted.\nFindings and discussion: Theme 1: expectations and transition to the first year experience\nImplications and conclusion: First year attrition accounts for almost half of all attrition at the tertiary level (Willcoxson et al., 2011). Given the rate of attrition during the students' initial experience of higher education, it is not surprising to find that the first year experience has become a strategic priority of many institutions attempting to increase their retention and delimit dissatisfaction with institutional services. This is particularly true within the Australian higher education context where First Year Experience policies have been established at the institutional level following recent government prioritization and funding. Whilst the retention of first year students has been associated with factors such as lack of goal commitment, lack of academic preparation, and other environmental and institutional factors (Willcoxson et al., 2011), limited attention has been given to an exploration of the role of affective bonds in instilling a sense of mutual relationship-based commitment between the student and the institution. Understanding the importance of affective bonds and the way in which they are formed is necessary if these bonds are to be fostered.\nLimitations and future research: The results of this study need to be interpreted in light of several limitations. This study employed a convenience sample of 48 first year university students at one large metropolitan institution. The respondents were therefore responding with reference to their own institution, its particular ethos, and its services. Future quantitative and longitudinal research should therefore investigate whether the results from this study generalise to other institutions. Future quantitative research could also investigate the extent to which affective bonding needs change over time as students' progress through their degree. This would provide insights into the evolution of student-university relationships, and the potentially dynamic nature of student needs and expectations throughout their programs. Whilst the Faculty sample was international in nature, replication should also be extended to other cross-cultural student contexts, in order to further increase confidence in the research model and enhance a broader understanding of the commitment process. These limitations and future research directions aside this study makes an important contribution to understanding how students perceive their experiences during the first year of their higher education studies. It also provides an insight into the role of Faculty as they influence the student experience and thus how university management can more effectively engage its student base.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Increasingly, higher education institutions are being held to account for the performance of their students internally in terms of academic performance and timely program completion, as well as externally through job placement. This challenge is compounded by a range of additional factors including fluctuating, international economic conditions, an increasingly globalised, competitive environment, widespread provision of online qualifications, and high student drop-out rates. There is a pressing need therefore to understand the factors which contribute to positive perceptions of institutional services and the way in which these drive student retention, especially within the first year experience. This research aims to explore the role of affective commitment in students' perceived satisfaction within the student-university relationship and the effect of this on retention in an Australian tertiary context.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was adopted using four focus groups and eight in-depth interviews with first year undergraduate students enrolled at a large metropolitan Australian university. In addition, an online expert forum was used to obtain qualitative verbatim from 22 internationally-based faculty educators.\nFindings: The results of this study suggest that the development of deeply entrenched emotional bonds with students is important in facilitating high levels of satisfaction during the first year experience. In addition, a sense of belonging was perceived by faculty as being the primary mechanism for ensuring the retention of students beyond the first year of enrolment.\nPractical implications: From a managerial perspective, uncovering the nature of student-institution relationships and the importance of affective forms of commitment will enable higher education institutions to develop more targeted relationship marketing programs to increase student retention.\nOriginality/value: In a unique contribution, this research examines this issue from the perspective of first year students, as well as from an international faculty perspective, enabling a multi-dimensional comparison to be drawn between the perceptions of the student, and the service provider.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The implications of the new ISO 9000:2000 standards for certified organizations: A review of anticipated benefits and implementation pitfalls
|
[
"Quality management",
"Quality assurance",
"ISO 9000 series",
"Benefits",
"Problem solving"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The ISO 9000 family of international quality management standards has earned a global reputation in establishing quality management systems (QMSs). The 1994 version of ISO 9000 standards has captured a lot of attention within the business world, causing a great number of discussions and serious controversy on their long-term effectiveness (Tsiotras and Gotzamani, 1996). The revised ISO 9000:2000 family of standards proceeds quality management further than the previous series of standards and forms a new basis for continual improvement and business excellence. The previous three quality assurance standards have now been integrated into the new ISO 9001:2000, which aims to enhance leadership, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.The new ISO 9001:2000 introduces some aspects more in line with a total quality management (TQM) system, such as management commitment, customer orientation and continuous improvement, which had not been taken into account by the previous standards. Even more, the basic principles of the new series of standards are very much in line with the principles of TQM and the principles of the most popular quality and business excellence awards, like the European Quality Award and the MBNQA. Thus, if certification to the previous standard was perceived as a good first step towards TQM, the new standard may be considered as the next important step towards quality improvement and business excellence. What is even more important for the certified companies is that the new elements that are introduced by the revised series of standards belong to the so-called \"soft elements\" of TQM, which have been proved to be the fundamental ones in a TQM system, with a very strong effect in companies' performance results (Costa and Martinez-Lorente, 2003).The rest of the paper presents the main improvements in the revised version of standards that narrow the gap with TQM and business excellence and the corresponding benefits for certified companies, as well as the difficulties and the possible pitfalls in their implementation.\n2 The changes in the new ISO 9000:2000 series of standards: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the new ISO 9000 family of standards, which is identified by the \"2000\" in its designation, on 15 December 2000. The new ISO 9000 family of standards has been reduced in size and it has only three principle members:1. ISO 9000:2000;2. ISO 9001:2000; and3. ISO 9004:2000.The previous three standards ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 have now been integrated into the new ISO 9001:2000, the only standard in the ISO 9000 family against which companies can be evaluated and certified by an external agency.The new ISO 9001:2000 standard has been organized in a user-friendly format with terms that are easily recognized by all business sectors, while its revised principles aim to be applicable to firms of all sizes. A new process-based structure has replaced the old 20-clause structure, covering the areas of:1. QMS;2. management responsibility;3. resource management;4. product realization; and5. measurement, analysis and improvement.The revised standard suggests that each one of these five areas is required to assure that the basic processes of a company are well controlled. Together, the five sections of ISO 9001:2000 define what companies consistently should do in order to provide products that meet customer and applicable statutory or regulatory requirements and to continuously enhance customer satisfaction by continuously improving their QMSs.Finally, the new series of standards is based on a set of principles that can be used by senior management as a framework to guide their organizations towards improved performance. These principles, as they appear in ISO 9000:2000 - QMSs fundamentals and vocabulary, and in ISO 9004:2000 - QMSs guidelines for performance improvements, are:* Customer focus: Organizations depend on their customers, and therefore, should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations;* Leadership: Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives;* Involvement of people: People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization's benefit;* Process approach: A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process;* System approach to management: Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives;* Continual improvement: Continual improvement of the organization's overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organization;* Factual approach to decision-making: Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information; and* Mutually beneficial supplier relationships: An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.\n3 The main improvements and the anticipated benefits of the new series of standards: The new series of ISO 9000:2000 standards has evolved from \"quality assurance\" standards to \"quality management\" standards, closing significantly the gap between QMSs requirements and TQM models. Also, the series is based on a set of quality management principles that have a good deal in common with the principles of TQM, and there is a remarkable convergence with the quality management principles of the most popular business excellence models.More specifically, the main changes in the new series of ISO 9000 standards can be summarized in the following sections.3.1 Top management commitment\n4 Barriers and pitfalls in companies' efforts to adopt the new standard: In order for any organisational change to be successful, organisations must first fully realise the need for the change. They must be well aware of the strengths, weaknesses and limitations of their current situation, the potential and the characteristics of their desired future state, as well as the difficulties and the problems of the transition stage. The most important of these difficulties, which can also be considered as the possible barriers or pitfalls in the new standard's implementation, are described in the following subsections.4.1 Change of culture\n5 Discussion and conclusions: In general, ISO 9000 certification has been criticized for its generality, irrelevance to quality, and complexity, all of which are addressed in the newly introduced ISO 9000:2000 standards (Stevenson and Barnes, 2002). A process-oriented approach with a stronger emphasis on customer satisfaction has been introduced, focusing on continual performance improvement (McAdam and Fulton, 2002). While the core concepts of the previous ISO 9001:1994 standard were: conformance - documentation - inspection and testing, the revised standard places emphasis on processes; customers; measurement and analysis; continuous improvement; resource management; and management responsibility (Bendell, 2000). Thus, the revision of the new ISO 9001:2000 can be a very good opportunity for companies to restructure their quality systems and to re-engineer their basic processes. The implementation of a number of quality management and improvement methods that are usually proposed by academic and business people requires a certain stage of maturity within firms. This maturity has been cultivated by the previous standard and it is far more improved by the implementation of the new ISO 9001:2000 (Zhang, 1999).An informal presentation of early reactions to ISO 9001:2000 from the market, gathered from around the world, reveals a number of positive and negative comments for the new standard (Feedback on ISO 9001:2000, 2002). The positive comments mention that the standard is very helpful in the implementation of a QMS, it has become more up to date and more appropriate for management, it is more generic than the previous edition allowing organisations to be more flexible, it is more adaptive and operable, it has a better structure and it is more logical, it shifts the focus away from documentation to performance and results, it requires demonstration of continual improvement, it is easier to link to environmental and safety standards, it is suitable for small business and consumer-focused organisations, it increases emphasis on senior managers' responsibilities and roles, the process approach helps eliminate complicated QMS documentation and the process-based auditing seems to enhance the effectiveness of the audited QMS. Even more, the results of a survey quantifying the experience of 227 US organisations implementing ISO 9001:2000, revealed that some of the key improvements of ISO 9001:2000 implementation are increase of customer satisfaction, better products' and processes' quality and increased productivity (Liebesman, 2002). On the other hand, the negative comments for the new standard are mainly related to the difficulties in its implementation and they concern the correct interpretation, management and control of processes, identification of process flow and assessment of process performance, data collection and analysis of customer satisfaction, data collection and analysis to support fact based management, data analyses in small companies that are not involved in mass production, traceability between processes, targets, tasks and functions, measurement of performance in design and development, lack of an updated auditing standard for ISO 9001:2000, and vagueness regarding how and to what extent organisations are expected to implement continuous improvement.Overall, the results of the first empirical surveys and case studies on the development and implementation of the new standards (Boulter and Bendell, 2002; Janas and Luczac, 2002; Costa and Martinez-Lorente, 2003) indicate a changing use and view of the standard, which was previously seen as bureaucratic, officious and static. More specifically, the results of these studies show that organizations have rather high expectations from the standards. They expect improvement in organization and structure and the establishment of more stable processes and they hope that the new requirements of ISO 9001:2000 will serve as an incentive in the process of continuous improvement. Also, quality managers agree that the new ISO 9001:2000 standard offers a significant decrease in bureaucracy, and they claim that those companies that had only adapted certification for external pressure without having implemented a real quality system will now have to do so.However, empirical research on ISO 9001:2000 certified companies shows that although initially the standard helps some companies to re-organize their procedures, improve documentation and efficiency of their quality system and employ effective supplier selection (Feedback on ISO 9001:2000, 2002; Magd and Curry, 2003), managers' beliefs against future results of the standard are rather pessimistic. More specifically, quality managers of a number of companies that were either recently certified or they were still under the process of certification to the new standard, believe that although the new standard is going to have a high influence in the areas of customer service and satisfaction, it will have a rather low influence in other companies' results, like product quality and innovation, fast response, competitiveness, market share, quality costs, employee motivation and satisfaction and others (Costa and Martinez-Lorente, 2003). Also, while a great number of managers are planning to completely restructure their QMSs in order to adapt to the process-focused structure, others are intending to simply add the new demands as new elements to their previous QMSs.The new ISO 9001 offers great opportunities, but it also brings considerable risks with it. Although it has much to offer in the areas of process management, customer satisfaction and continuous improvement, the conceptual evolution of quality standards may increase the problem of ritualistic implementation. Overall, there is the fear again that the focus on procedures will prevail, creating new quality bureaucracies around processes and losing sight of the true purpose, which is satisfaction of the needs of the processes' customers (Conti, 1999). The necessary prerequisites for the implementation of the previous version of standards hold also for the implementation of the new version and the pitfalls that companies should avoid in their implementation then (Tsiotras and Gotzamani, 1996), should also be avoided in their implementation now. The ISO and the Technical Committee 176 responsible for the development of the ISO 9000 systems will continue to collect feedback on the effectiveness and efficiency of the standards and the companies' positive or negative experiences with them, so as to continuously address their weaknesses and improve them. Two major revisions have already taken place in 1994 and 2000 and one would expect that future revisions and corrections, based on the market needs, would also follow. However, following standards' requirements alone and relaxing after certification will never be enough to guarantee sustained competitive advantage. Standards' requirements, no matter how good, they can always be copied from competitors. Those companies that wish to maintain and enhance the anticipated benefits of ISO 9000:2000 certification should extend their efforts well beyond the minimum requirements of the standards and encompass other management standards, tools and techniques. The true added value and competitive advantage stems from a company's efforts and success to build internal special strengths and efficiencies, which cannot be easily copied from competition.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: - To exploit the main implications of the revised series of quality assurance standards ISO 9000:2000 for the certified organisations. The paper aims to identify the anticipated benefits of the changes in the series, as well as the main barriers and pitfalls that may deprive organisations of these benefits.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper combines the ideas and views of different authors and studies in this subject and organises them accordingly, based on the author's previous experience and empirical studies on ISO 9000 implementation, in order to fully describe the subject for the reader.\nFindings: - The paper finds that although the revised series of standards may offer important benefits to the certified organisations in areas which were previously considered to be the weak areas of the standards, there are still important dilemmas regarding the degree to which companies will be able to overcome a number of barriers and implementation pitfalls.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper is not based on official empirical research, since it is still too early to empirically test the results of the new standard to the certified organisations. However, this would be the focus of a future survey.\nPractical implications: - The paper offers important information to certified organisations, regarding the main benefits of the new ISO 9000:2000 series and the barriers that they will have to overcome in order to realise them.\nOriginality/value: - The paper is the first one to bring all these ideas regarding the new standard's implementation together, offering a complete, comprehensive review of the new standard, and raising important questions that will have to be answered through further research.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Starting points for a new researcher in behavioral finance
|
[
"Behavioural finance",
"Anomaly",
"Efficiency capital market"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Traditional finance theories are often based on the assumptions of rationality, an efficient market, and profit maximization (Fama, 1970). These theories focus on objective market situations, but are often unable to explain chaotic and abnormal phenomena in the actual market. Behavioral finance begins with the decisions human beings make. It combines theories from the areas of classic economics, finance, and psychology, and tries to propose a new direction of thinking for traditional finance theories.\n2. Research methods: 2.1. Scope of study\n3. Research results: 3.1. Frequency of behavioral finance research in journal, country, and institution\n4. Discussion: Our research tries to evaluate the contribution to the research on behavior finance made by individual researchers and institutional contributors from 1995 to 2013. We also evaluate the impact of individual articles and individual authors according to SCI/SSCI citation analysis. We discuss the implications of our research to offer an analysis and contribute to the behavioral finance literature review.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to systematically consolidate and analyze papers in behavioral finance in the past 20 years, and to provide an overall introduction to scholars and professionals in the industry who may be interested in behavioral finance in the future.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research is based on searching keywords in databases of ISI Web of Science (WOS). Survey data covers the period from 1995 to 2013, with 124 journals and 347 articles. The authors are committed to finding the number of publications and times cited in the field of behavioral finance to measure the contribution of active researchers.\nFindings: More research papers in behavioral finance are emerging, making it a significant area of study. Most of the papers can be classified as empirical or theory. The number of papers in the review class should be increased to assist scholars and professionals in understanding behavioral finance and its application. A number of personal and institutional main contributors have been making a considerable impact on the field of behavioral finance. With the vigorous development of financial markets all around the world, more and more scholars are becoming involved in behavioral finance research.\nResearch limitations/implications: Articles published earlier than 1995 or not included in the WOS database cannot be included in the research; however, this does not diminish the contribution of older scholars in any way. Moreover, the research does not include non-SCI/SSCI articles.\nOriginality/value: Unlike a traditional literature review, which classifies and elaborates different research paths (Subrahmanyam, 2007), the research adopts the ISI WOS database as a tool for analysis. This new literature review methodology enables us to systematically consolidate and analyze papers in behavioral finance.\n",
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Preservation practices of new media artists: Challenges, strategies, and attitudes in the personal management of artworks
|
[
"Archives",
"Personal information management",
"Digital preservation",
"Personal digital archiving",
"Art conservation",
"Artist archives",
"Artist information behaviour",
"Digital art",
"New media art"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: New media art constitutes a significant vein of contemporary artistic production, with many artists creating culturally significant artworks that critically investigate the meanings and uses of technology in the contemporary moment. Yet countless such works have been lost from the cultural record, with even more rapidly becoming inaccessible. For the past several decades, advances in technology have radically altered daily life, with the computer especially persisting as a deep and active force in the cultural imaginary. Artists respond to this present technological landscape through experimentation, play, and critical inquiry, creating artworks that push the boundaries of hardware and software, and forge connections across the digital and the analog. These works exist at the bleeding edge and often have a short lifespan. The preservation of more \"standard\" digital objects is already a difficult undertaking, complicated especially by the rapid rate of obsolescence of hardware and software programs (Hedstrom, 1997); these preservation concerns are only exacerbated where highly unique and complex objects such as technology-based artworks are concerned.\n2. Challenges of preserving new media art: Museums and other visual art institutions began to comprehensively diagnose digital preservation concerns in the 1990s. The seminal study Time & Bits: Managing Digital Continuity (Davis and MacLean, 1999) addressed growing concerns regarding cultural heritage materials stored on digital media, which to this point lacked plans for long term for preservation. Among this diverse body of digital materials, new media art objects were identified as a special case (Besser, 2001). Besser establishes that new media artworks are radically different from analog artworks, such as paintings and sculptures. While these analog artworks persist rather durably over time, new media artworks lack fixity, often involve audience interaction, and depend on particular hardware and software configurations. The aesthetics and behavior of a new media artwork emerge out of a complex ecology of devices, programs, and technological infrastructures, such that these artworks resemble performance art and installation art more so than an easily circumscribed art object like a painting. Chiantore and Rava (2012) distinguish performance, installation, conceptual, and new media art as special cases requiring radical preservation strategies qualitatively different from analog artworks. While contemporary paintings and sculpture require physical treatments, such as the application of chemical solutions, preservation of new media art often focuses on the maintenance of the idea or the experience behind the work.\n3. Current approaches to preserving new media art: As a complex digital object, the preservation of a new media artwork is never about the management of a single digital file, but rather a set of relations and interdependencies among a diverse group of component parts. Besser and Laurenson both recommend that curators and conservators work directly with the artist to clearly define which characteristics and components constitute the essence of the artwork, and which characteristics and components are peripheral to the artwork. Museum professionals and artists can then work together to plan appropriate preservation measures for an artwork. This approach to new media art preservation was further pursued by the pioneering Variable Media Network, which was founded in 2000 by a consortium of art institutions including the Guggenheim Museum, Rhizome.org, and the Walker Art Center (Depocas et al., 2003). The group defines this approach to new media art preservation as the variable media paradigm, in which museum professionals encourage \"creators to define their work independently from medium so that the work can be translated once its current medium is obsolete[1]\". Artists can define acceptable ways for their works to be re-created for new platforms, hardware, software, and media types, so that while some aspects of the work may change, the underlying essence of the original artwork will persist in these new incarnations. Ippolito and Rinehart (2014) have continued to refine the variable media approach to new media art preservation, positing re-interpretation of a defunct work as a viable preservation strategy in addition to storage of original components, migration to new formats, and emulation of obsolescent hardware and software on current machines.\n4. Advocating artist-driven preservation efforts: The existing literature on the preservation of digital and new media artworks routinely advocates for the need to include the artist in the preservation process, and to work with artists at all points in the life cycle of the art object. As Anderson and Delve (2014) suggest, \"it is clear that artist, technology provider and curator need to work together right from the earliest moments of a commissioned software art's work's life to ensure that steps are in place for its long term preservation\" (p. xl). However, there remains a paucity of research that meets this need by directly investigating digital preservation concerns earlier in the life cycle of the artwork, such as at the point of creation or when the artwork is still maintained by the artist. Much of the existing research, including work cited above, attends to preservation challenges and practices at moments in the life cycle in which the new media artwork intersects with institutions, museums, and arts organizations. But what of preservation concerns for artworks that never enter into institutional care? This represents a serious gap in the literature of new media art preservation. Biggs (2014) points out that \"most digital artwork produced is never likely to be collected, privately or institutionally\" (p. 24). Without preservation efforts and research occurring outside of the small subset of institutionally collected new media works, nearly all of this work will not only be inaccessible, but by and large undocumented and forgotten.\n5. Methods: The theoretical approach that I use in this study is media archeology. Media archeology seeks to position technological devices as both material and cultural objects imbued with rich intellectual histories. Applied to the study of cultural heritage materials, media archeology investigates the technologies used to produce, preserve, and access cultural objects, in addition to considering the content of works like films, books, websites, or artworks. Although Huhtamo and Parikka (2011) stress that media archeology encompasses a diverse set of practices, they also argue that the field can be defined by a common approach to media technologies, placing these in a particular historical context and working against universalizing and homogeneous narratives of the development and uses of technology. While much of the work in the area of media archeology has been historical in focus, media archeology can be increasingly seen as a \"concrete activity, as a material engagement with (technological) devices or apparatuses\" (Strauven, 2013, p. 66). This approach has wide applicability for a deeper understanding of the digital creativity of content creators both past and present. Kirschenbaum (2008), for instance, uses a media archeological approach to investigate the role that digital storage technologies have played in the creation and dissemination of important works of electronic writing.\n6. Artists' preservation practices: 6.1 Preservation challenges and strategies\n7. Preservation as an information behavior: Despite a diversity of creative practices, this study suggests that new media artists face a shared set of challenges in the long-term custody of their artwork, and have cultivated a variety of strategies and attitudes to address these challenges. I have articulated a framework of categories and themes to better understand these challenges, strategies, and attitudes, and to also point toward fruitful avenues for further research. Primary among these, this framework illustrates that the preservation and custody of new media artworks constitutes a particular kind of information behavior, with unique information needs and methods for filling these needs. How do artists develop particular attitudes toward preservation? What factors influence whether to save or decommission an artwork? How do artists develop any technical skills required to implement a particular preservation strategy? How do preservation activities overlap with other artist information behaviors, such as creative processes like finding inspiration for new artworks?\n8. Conclusion: implications for cultural heritage institutions: The findings of this study also suggest implications for cultural heritage institutions. Although preserving collections of new media artworks is a difficult undertaking, institutions face the added hurdle that many significant examples of new media art may not exist long enough to be collected in the first place. While most paintings and sculptures can safely sit for many years until the point at which their cultural value is recognized, new media artworks may be actively destroyed or inadvertently lost early on in their life due to any number of the preservation challenges discussed above. Many art museums have responded to the technological and institutional difficulties in collecting and exhibiting new media artworks by developing innovative strategies for collecting and displaying digital works, such as creating affiliated online galleries or acquiring new media artworks directly from creators via commission (Graham, 2014). However, even these new modes of collection fail to encompass artworks created by less prominent new media artists, as the collection of new media artworks largely remains an exception and not the rule for most cultural heritage institutions.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the preservation practices of new media artists, in particular those working outside of the scope of major collecting institutions, examining how these artists preserve new media artworks in their custody.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper builds case studies of seven new media artists of differing practices and artistic approaches. For each case study, semi-structured interviews with the artists were conducted in conjunction with visits to the artists' studios.\nFindings: The study finds that new media artists face a number of shared preservation challenges and employ a range of preservation strategies, and that these challenges and strategies differ markedly from that of art museums and cultural heritage institutions.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study considers preservation practices for new media artists generally. Further research into specific communities of artistic practice could profitably build upon this overall framework.\nPractical implications: The findings of this research pose a number of implications for art museums and cultural heritage institutions, suggesting new ways these institutions might consider supporting the preservation of new media artworks before works enter into institutional custody.\nOriginality/value: The literature on new media art preservation emphasizes the importance of working with artists early in the life cycle of digital artworks. This study advances this by investigating preservation from the perspective of new media artists, deepening the understanding of challenges and potential preservation strategies for these artworks prior to entering or outside of institutional custody.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Integrating financial and physical supply chains: the role of banks in enabling supply chain integration
|
[
"Supply chain management",
"Financial services",
"Financial supply chains",
"Supply chain integration"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the face of the economic recession and with the increasing complexity of global supply chains, buyers and suppliers are seeking opportunities to improve the efficiency of working capital by unlocking cash trapped in the financial supply chain (Lodge, 2010; Large and Large, 2010; Richman and Mutter, 2010). This hinges on improving the integration of financial supply chains with the flows of physical goods and information, and so buyers and suppliers are putting their banks under pressure to play a more proactive role in improving physical/financial supply chain (P/FSC) integration (Blount, 2008; Mathis and Cavinato, 2010).\nSupply chain integration: Chandra and Grabis (2007, p. 18) argue that a supply chain \"is a network of suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, distributors and retailers who through coordinated plans and activities, develop products by converting raw materials to finished goods inventory\". This focus on products and materials is characteristic of the supply chain management literature in which most empirical studies have been based on manufacturing contexts and physical distribution chains (Field and Meila, 2008). Another characteristic of the SCM literature of the past two decades is the conceptualisation of the supply chain as a series of buyer/supplier dyads (Harland et al., 2007; Choi and Wu, 2009). This is epitomised in the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model, developed by the Supply Chain Council, which is widely recognised by academics and practitioners as a framework for understanding and analysing supply chain performance (Huan et al., 2004) and which focuses on the series of dyads linking suppliers, manufacturers and customers. This narrow focus on dyadic relationships may explain why financial services, which manage financial flows running parallel to the flow of goods and information, rarely figure as supply chain partners in the SCM literature.\nEnablers of SCI: Pagell (2004) argued that most contributions to the SCI literature have focused on links between SCI and performance, usually that of a focal firm (Harland et al., 2007); but more recently an emergent theme is the development of understanding of SCI enablers. Table I provides a summary of the main empirical contributions to the SCI literature. We find three emergent themes: the need to integrate activities along the supply chain, the need for organizational integration, and the need for information integration. In Table I, the constructs used to explore each of these three aspects of integration are identified for each of the references. These constructs can be conceptualised as four enablers of SCI. Integration of supply chain activities is enabled through supply chain coordination; organizational integration is enabled through collaboration; and information integration is enabled through information sharing and information visibility. In this paper, these enablers are used to explore the role of banks in integrating financial and physical supply chains.\nThe role of banks in integrating financial supply chains with the flows of physical goods and information: In Figure 1, the financial supply chain is depicted as running parallel with the flows of goods and information. Banks have a direct involvement in the integration of information and financial flows because processing payments involves, not only interaction between buyer and supplier banks, but also reconciliation of the three documents identified in Figure 1: the order, shipping receipt and invoice. Before a payment can be sent to the supplier's bank, the buyer's bank manages what can be a complex process of reconciliation; for example, a single payment may cover several invoices and receipts, and there are often discrepancies in the documents and even disputes between buyers and suppliers as to the amount owed.\nThe role of banks in contributing to the enablers of SCI: In order to address RQ2 an empirical study of two European banks was conducted in order to identify ways in which banks' capabilities and services can contribute to the enablers of SCI.\nDiscussion: The two case studies have provided examples of services and technologies which banks are offering to address the challenge of P/FSC integration. The analysis reveals a number of ways in which the banks can contribute to the enablers of SCI. Both banks have invested in technologies which enables improved coordination and synchronisation of activities along the supply chain. Electronic payments and web-based technologies enable the banks to accelerate payment processing, simplify trade management and reduce process throughput times; thus directly affecting \"the synchronisation of 'time buckets' throughout the supply chain\" (Childerhouse and Towill, 2003, p. 19). However, Bank B's client relationship strategy was based not only on helping clients improve supply chain coordination but also on facilitating collaboration between and within supply chain partners. Bank B recognised opportunities to not only mediate between external supply chain partners, but also to mediate between different functions and partners within client organisations. This suggests that banks can contribute to \"internal integration\" (Pagell, 2004; Flynn et al., 2010; Kim et al., 2011) as well as inter-organisational SCI. Indeed there may be opportunities for banks to arbitrate and facilitate negotiations between corporate treasurers, buyers and suppliers so that all players are encouraged to \"think and act as one\" (Childerhouse and Towill, 2003).\nConclusion: This paper has explored an aspect of SCI which has hitherto been largely overlooked in the operations and supply chain management literature, namely, the integration of physical and financial supply chains, and the role of financial services in facilitating such integration. We propose a model of P/FSC integration which recognises the different perspectives of buyers and suppliers in managing financial and information flows, and identifies the role of buyers' and suppliers' banks in managing payments and providing SCF services. Our case analysis of the payments services and SCF offerings of two international banks further suggests that banks can play a significant role in the integration of physical and financial supply chains. We contend that banks are in a position to enhance or hinder SCI because they can contribute to the enablers of integration, namely, supply chain coordination, collaboration, information sharing and information visibility. Failing to recognise the role of banks in synchronising the flow of goods with financial and information flows, and in managing supply chain collaboration, information sharing and visibility, is to miss significant opportunities for improved supply chain performance.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The financial supply chain, running parallel to the flow of goods and information, is common to all economic supply networks, and its integration with the physical supply chain is therefore a critical and ubiquitous aspect of supply chain integration (SCI) largely ignored in the literature. This paper aims to develop a model of physical and financial SCI, which is based on a process view from both buyers' and suppliers' perspectives, and explores the role of banks in enabling SCI.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper reports an exploratory study of the role of banks in improving SCI, by presenting a case study analysis of two international banks.\nFindings: The findings show that banks can support buyers and suppliers by contributing to the enablers of SCI, namely coordination, collaboration, information sharing and information visibility.\nResearch limitations/implications: The research is limited in that it is explorative; further studies are required in order to quantify the impact of banks' interventions on SCI.\nPractical implications: Improved SCI requires an understanding of the flow of physical and financial resources across supply networks. Banks can help buyers and suppliers develop a more holistic understanding of the supply chain, thus improving integration and optimising working capital.\nOriginality/value: The paper presents a process model of physical/financial SCI which uniquely recognises the role of banks in enabling buyers and suppliers to improve SCI, synchronisation and performance.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
A state-wise performance appraisal of the Indian roads using PROMETHEE-GIS approach
|
[
"Performance",
"PROMETHEE",
"GIS",
"GAIA",
"Indian road"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In a vast country like India, it is necessary to develop various transport modes in an integrated manner to build up an efficient, sustainable, safe and regionally balanced transportation system. Roads play a very important role in transportation of various commodities and passengers for short and medium distances. India's transport sector is large and diverse as it has to cater to the needs of approximately 1.2bn people. During the year 2007, this sector had a share of about 5.5 percent to the nation's GDP (Gross Domestic Product), with road transportation contributing the lion's share. Almost 90 percent of India's passenger traffic and 65 percent of its freight are carried by its roads. The density of India's road network at 0.66 km of highway per square kilometer of land is almost same to that of the USA (0.65), and much better than China's (0.16) or Brazil's (0.20). However, a major portion of the Indian highways is narrow, having poor surface quality and approachability, and 40 percent of India's villages have no access to all-seasoned roads. It is always felt that a high-quality road network constitutes the basic infrastructure so as to speed up the development process through connectivity and opening up of the unprivileged regions to business and investment. Roads have also an important role to play in the development of inter-modal transport facilities establishing connections with airports, railway stations and ports. Moreover, they have an additional responsibility in enhancing national integration, which is of particular importance in a vast country like India. Since independence in 1947, the increase in the volume of road traffic, both passenger and freight, has been incredible in India. However, the expansion of main road network consisting of national and state highways has not been compatible with this traffic growth. Thus, the development and growth of the Indian road network is a highly demanding issue for building roads to provide approachable links to the rural masses.\n2. Literature review: Kanta Rao et al. (2006) structurally evaluated the plain jointed concrete pavements in Mumbai city of India, and observed that their quality was satisfactory and as per the specifications with respect to strength, pavement deflection and load transfer across the joints. While employing a fuzzy multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach, Sandra et al. (2007) formulated a methodology for prioritizing road stretches in order to logically disburse the available funds for pavement maintenance. Sharma and Vohra (2009) examined the current status of road infrastructure in India, and identified the gap in availability and quality of roads, while considering China as the benchmark. Applying statistical modeling and artificial neural networks, Saxena and Saxena (2010) appraised the performance of India's public road transport undertakings, and adopted data envelopment analysis for measuring the technical scale and managerial efficiencies of inter-state buses in India. Gokhale and Telang (2013) identified the need to develop qualitative evaluation models for assessing sidewalk elements and facilities with respect to pedestrians' comfort needs. The developed models would guide the local government in formulating design standards, policies and implementation strategies so as to improve sidewalk walkability index. Semeida (2013) explored the relationship between road geometric characteristics and percentage of heavy vehicles, and level of service and road capacity. Ghosh et al. (2013) summarized the evolution of research on determining the level of service of two-lane roads and identified some future directions to enhance Indian mixed traffic situation. Jadhav and Attar (2014) emphasized on the role of build-operate-transfer models on Indian road infrastructure development, and examined the details of road section and traffic volume study. Joseph and Nagakumar (2014) identified some important parameters, like capacity, level of service, vehicle to capacity ratio, average journey time, average delay in each midblock and peak hour traffic, in order to minimize traffic congestion in Bangalore city of India. Mitra (2014) attempted to develop a methodology for assessment and evaluation of city-level transportation network in the context of India. From the review of the existing literature, it is quite evident that till date, no research work has been conducted in order to evaluate the performance of roads, and their conditions and characteristic features in the Indian context. In this paper, the state-wise performance of the Indian roads is appraised based on several identified parameters using a combined PROMETHEE-GAIA approach.\n3. Indian road scenario: It is observed that the passenger and freight movement in India over the years have progressively budged toward road transport as compared to the other means of conveyance. In 2009-2010, the Indian road network carried 85.2 percent of the total passenger movement when road and railways transportations were put together. Similarly, the equivalent figure for freight movement by roads was 62.9 percent. It has already been an established fact that a well-connected road network is anticipated to bring about an increment in trade between various destinations that they link. Rural households with better road connectivity have increased consumption of perishable and manufactured products. A competent road network has also made it possible for improved access of the rural inhabitants to additional job opportunities in the nearby/local markets. An improved road access has been responsible to a 5 percent increase in school enrollment and attendance for younger children (5-14 year olds). It also becomes possible for the farmers having superior exposure to road network to make more use of fertilizers and hybrid seeds. In India, it has been observed that there is almost a 3 percent increase in fertilizer application, and 2 percent increase in hybrid seed usage in well-connected states.\n4. PROMETHEE-GAIA approach: The application of the PROMETHEE method (Brans and Vincke, 1985; Brans et al., 1986; Brans and Mareschal, 1994) starts with the development of a decision matrix where the performance of ith alternative (i = 1, 2,..., m) with respect to the jth criterion (j = 1, 2,..., n) is presented by fj(ai). This method is simply based on a principle of pair-wise comparison of the alternatives where the deviation between the evaluations of two alternatives on a particular criterion is considered. A preference function is usually associated with each criterion in order to reflect the perception of the criterion scale by the decision maker. Thus, for each criterion, the following preference function is considered:(1)\n5. State-wise performance appraisal of Indian roads: At present, India has 29 states and 7 union territories. For this PROMETHEE-GAIA-based state-wise analysis of performance of Indian roads, all the pertinent information is accumulated for the years 2011-2012 from different official websites of Government of India. The population related data are based on the Census Report of 2011. For this reason, the new state of Telangana, established in 2014, is not considered in this analysis. On the other hand, Delhi, although a union territory, is taken into account here as it is the capital of India. Thus, this performance appraisal problem of Indian roads consists of 29 alternatives. In total, 12 important criteria, as enlisted in Table I, are shortlisted for this problem and their weights (relative importance) are determined employing Shannon's entropy method (Rao, 2007). It is observed from Table I that the percentage of surfaced road (C3) is the most important criterion, while the road length per 100 sq km of area (C1) is the least important criterion. Amongst these 12 criteria, C1, C2, C3, C4 and C11 are beneficial attributes where higher values are always preferred, and the remaining seven criteria are of non-beneficial type requiring their lower values.\n6. Conclusions: In this paper, the performance of 29 Indian states is appraised with respect to their road network conditions using an integrated PROMETHEE-GIS methodology based on 12 evaluation criteria. It is observed that Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh are the top two performing states, and they have several attributes in favor of them. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the laggards in this direction. It can be recommended that the total financial outlay for road infrastructural development for some of the Indian states, like Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and Tripura needs to be increased. This analysis would help the decision makers to identify the strengths and deficiencies of each Indian state with respect to its road conditions so that proper promotional and growth actions can be implemented. The key issues identified are of immense help to the policy makers of India for having detailed insight and correcting the road infrastructure development programs. Similar type of inter-state analysis can also be performed in other dimensions of interest, like agriculture, mining, industry, higher education, sports, etc.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: A road network provides arterial arrangement to facilitate business, transport, social integration and economic progress of any nation. During the last seven decades after independence, road transport infrastructure in India has expanded manifold, both in terms of spread (total length and density of road) and capacity (number of on-road registered vehicles, and volume of passenger and freight traffic handled). But, with the enrichment of road transport network in India, the number of traffic accidents and total cost for maintaining the road infrastructure also keeps on increasing. It becomes necessary to evaluate state-wise performance of the Indian roads using some mathematical tools. The paper aims to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this paper, using preference ranking organization method for enrichment of evaluations (PROMETHEE) and geometrical analysis for interactive aid (GAIA) approaches, an attempt is made to appraise the state-wise performance of Indian roads based on 12 critically important criteria. A geographic information system method and a hue-saturation-value color coding scheme are also employed to identify the influence of individual criterion on the overall rank of 29 Indian states.\nFindings: It is observed that amongst all the considered states, the road conditions in the states of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh are really satisfactory, whereas Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the lagging states requiring governmental intervention and support to enhance their road network infrastructure.\nPractical implications: This analysis would help the decision makers to identify the strengths and deficiencies of each Indian state with respect to its road conditions so that proper promotional and growth actions can be implemented.\nOriginality/value: From the review of the existing literature, it is quite evident that till date, no research work has been conducted in order to evaluate the performance of roads, and their conditions and characteristic features in the Indian context. In this paper, the state-wise performance of the Indian roads is appraised based on several identified parameters using a combined PROMETHEE-GAIA approach.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Security gaps assessment of smart grid based SCADA systems
|
[
"Government regulation",
"SCADA",
"Smart grid",
"Gap assessment",
"Security challenges",
"Industrial control systems (ICS)"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The smart grid is the futuristic way of managing the critical infrastructures that are used to operate various aspects of electricity services business. It consists of electricity generation stations, transmission overhead lines, power substations, transformers and additional infrastructure to provide electricity services to consumers. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are used to manage, control and monitor operations in typical critical infrastructural deployments. The deployments can be any critical sectors of power utility, oil and gas, sewage management plants, nuclear energy, railways, water supply or desalination plants, etc. SCADA acts as the central component in smart grid decision-making.\n2. Security gaps assessment: To assess the security maturity level of an organization, the security gaps assessment is the first step of that goal. The security gaps assessment provides organizations with a baseline along with strategic roadmap of short-term and long-term milestones. It also provides a plan of action to reach the security maturity level by implementation of security goals (Poletykin, 2018). The security gap analysis process comprises of determining, documenting and obtaining executive management recognition of the discrepancy between the requirements baselined in the regulation standard or the standard against which the assessment is carried out and the organizations current security maturity level. After the security gaps are recognized, an action plan can be developed that provides basis for assigning ownership to the right people, setting priorities, timelines, budget, human resources and for monitoring and improving compliance with the security baseline requirements (Stefanov et al., 2015).\n3. Gap assessment methodology and process flows: The gap assessment methodology and the process flow for this case study is based upon NIST cybersecurity framework (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2019) which is basically superset of five frameworks i.e. National Institute of Standards and Technology's special publication (NIST SP 800-53), International Society of Automation's ISA 62443, Council on Cyber Security's CCS CSC1, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission's ISO/IEC 27001 and Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT 5) Figure 2.\n4. Gap assessment results: The assessment was carried out against the regulator security baseline requirements. The following is the detailed assessment statistics aggregated by core area levels Table II:\n5. Results and compliance: The assessment results clearly indicate that there is a huge gap in the compliance against the regulator standard baseline requirements. A lot of measures and work needs to be done by the utility to be compliant against the baseline requirements. The figure depicts the compliance maturity level of the utility. Out of total number of compliance requirements i.e. 104, 88 were found Non-Existent, 14 were Existent (Limited), 2 were Existent and Documented (Managed) and 0 were Reviewed Frequently (Optimized) Figure 4.\n6. Recommendations: The assessment results clearly indicate that the utility assessed is not compliant with the baseline security requirements as per regulator standard. The following are the list of recommendations for each core areas which needs to be implemented to be compliant with regulatory standard Table III.\n7. Technology solution gap recommendations: The following are the technology solutions which are strongly required and recommended to close the gaps in the various core areas Table IV.\n8. Conclusion: The paper presented the SCADA security gaps assessment of electric utility in Oman. The security baseline requirements proposed by regulator in Oman including the core areas, controls for each core area and requirements for each control were discussed. The gap assessment results were also presented. Finally, the recommendations and technology solutions gap recommendations were also presented.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems security is of paramount importance, and there should be a holistic approach to it, as any gap in the security will lead to critical national-level disaster. The purpose of this paper is to present the case study of security gaps assessment of SCADA systems of electricity utility company in the Sultanate of Oman against the regulatory standard and security baseline requirements published by the Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER), Government of Sultanate of Oman.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The security gaps assessment presented in this paper are based on the security baseline requirements that include core areas, controls for each core area and requirements for each control.\nFindings: The paper provides the security gaps assessment summary of SCADA systems of electricity utility company.\nPractical implications: The summary of threats and vulnerabilities presented will help stakeholders to be proactive rather than reactive in the event of any attack.\nOriginality/value: This case study discusses the various security challenges in smart grid based on SCADA systems and provides the summary of challenges and recommendations to overcome the same.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Evaluation of performance index in resilient supply chain: a fuzzy-based approach
|
[
"Decision support systems",
"Supply chain management",
"Resilience",
"Fuzzy theory",
"Supply chain (SC)"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Background: the concept of supply chain resilience (SCRES): In today's era of business globalization, enterprises are under tremendous pressure toward focusing attention on their entire supply chain on account of high customer expectations for product quality, quick delivery and best services. As a consequence, effective supply chain management is considered as a powerful operations strategy that led to success in many enterprises all over the world. Supply chain management can be viewed as an integrated network that links various agents, from the customer to the supplier, through manufacturing and services so that the flow of materials, money and information can effectively be managed to meet various business requirements (Stevens, 1989). In today's dynamic, high-velocity social as well as business environment, which is characterized by volatility and turbulence, several researchers have put their effort toward looking for the novel concept embedded with supply chain network to construct this potential and sustainable against highly volatile or fluctuating market demand and unwanted interruption or external disruption.\n2. State of art: Relevant research outcomes on characterizing a resilient SC have been summarized in the Table I. Maklan (2011) conceptualized SCRES; identified and explored empirically its relationship with the related concepts of supply chain vulnerability and SCRM. Haldar et al. (2012) developed a quantitative approach for resilient supplier selection under a disaster environment. The work incorporated an analytical framework for supply chain design, which might help the decision makers (DMs) to select a suitable supplier under a disruption scenario. Carvalho et al. (2012) proposed a conceptual framework for the analysis of relationships between agile and resilient approaches, supply chain competitiveness and performance. Operational and economic performance measures were proposed to facilitate the monitoring of the influence of these practices on supply chain performance. The influence of the proposed agile and resilient practices on supply chain competitiveness was also examined in terms of time to market, product quality and customer service.\n3. Research gap: In recent times, resilience has become more and more important as a \"medicine\" for the vulnerability of complex global networks in a risky environment. Many interesting papers were citied on assuring an adequate level of logistic systems resilience (Juttner and Maklan, 2011; Mandal, 2014; Leat and Revoredo-Giha, 2013; Scholten and Schilder, 2015). However, there is still a lack of a framework type approach that could be the foundation of building an expert system to support the design and evaluation of supply chain and network resilience. Also, SCRES, as a measure of system performance remains quantitatively vague. The multi-dimensional nature of resilience, coupled with the multiple stakeholders involved in supply chains, makes the quantification of such a construct difficult. Motivated by this, present work aims to present a novel multi-dimensional view on the development of a quantitative metric for SCRES. The study takes into account the multiple elements identified in the literature as key components of resilience, evaluates their relative strength in capturing the supply chain response to disruptions, and maps a methodological pathway toward a multi-dimensional resilience metric.\n4. Justification on exploration of fuzzy set theory: Subjective appraisement of SCRES is basically vague in nature; quantitative assessment of overall SCRES is indeed a difficult task. However, assessment of degree of resilience seems important to compare performance extent of candidate industries/organizations; to set a desired goal of SCRES that the companies should try to achieve; to identify ill-performing supply chain entities those are responsible for SCRES to lag behind. A team of DMs (or experts) may play a significant role in evaluating organizational SCRES.\n5. Proposed fuzzy-based resilience appraisement module: results of case research: In this reporting, a case research has been conducted to verify application credentials of the proposed approach in order to evaluate an overall resilience index of the particular supply chain and to identify ill-performing areas of the said supply chain in relation to the candidate industry under consideration.\n6. Managerial implications: In today's competitive global marketplace, a number of supply chain networking strategies (i.e. leanness, agility, leagility alliance, flexibility, etc.) have fruitfully been implemented toward fulfilling unpredictable market demand, ensuring consumer satisfaction and timely response, improved product quality and other unified objective or business goal. In addition to the existing supply chain strategies, SCRES has been understood as a winning initiative of supply chain management which is concerned with the system ability to return its present state to the primitive one or to a particular state, more desirable, after experiencing a disturbance and avoiding the occurrence of failures modes (Carvalho et al., 2012; Cabral et al., 2012). Sustainable resiliency grows winning environment in the enterprise and even creates a positive image in people's brain and hold the collaborated contractor and dealers with candidate industry. From this viewpoint, it has become indeed necessary to facilitate industry managers to evaluate, check and compare overall supply chain resilient performance based on a prescribed set of resilience criteria hierarchy; and also to investigate on the weak/ill-performing areas of the supply chain network for effective management, reformation, amendment and subsequent future improvement.\n7. Conclusions: Supply chain represents a network of interconnected activities starting from raw material extraction to delivery of the finished product to the end user. The main constituents of supply chain are supplying/purchasing, inbound logistics, manufacturing, outbound logistics, marketing and sales. In recent times, the traditional supply chain construct is being modified to embrace various challenges of present business needs. Today's global market has become highly volatile; customers' expectations are ever-changing. Fierce competition amongst business sectors necessitates adapting modern supply chain management philosophies. Agility, greenness, flexibility as well as resilience have become key success factors in satisfying global business needs. In order to remain competitive in the turbulent marketplace, industries should focus on improving overall performance of the supply chain network.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a multi-level hierarchical framework (evaluation index system) toward evaluating an \"appraisement index\" from the prospectus of measuring and monitoring resilient performance of the candidate industry.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this reporting, vagueness, imprecision, as well as inconsistency associated with subjective evaluation information (aligned with ill-defined assessment indices of SC resilience performance), has been tackled by the application of fuzzy theory.\nFindings: Subjective evaluation information (expressed in linguistic term) acquired from the committee of decision makers (called expert group), against different resilience indices/metrics, has been fruitfully explored through the proposed fuzzy-based resilience performance appraisement module. Finally, a case study from an Indian automobile company has been conducted from the perspective of checking effectiveness of the proposed methodology for evaluation of appraisement index indicating SC resilience extent.\nOriginality/value: This methodology might be successfully applied to help other decision-making problems from the perspective of performance appraisal and benchmarking of candidate alternatives/choices under predefined criteria and subjective evaluation circumstances.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Morbidity and mortality conferences: their place in quality assessments
|
[
"Morbidity and mortality conferences",
"Quality assurance",
"Patient safety",
"Medical education",
"France"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Mortality and morbidity conferences (M&MCs) were established in North America following medical education's institutionalization by Flexner in 1910 and the American College of Surgeons' creation in 1912. In 1983, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education mandated M&MCs as part of the surgeon's educational program. The method's success led to its spread to other disciplines and countries. In France, M&MCs were adopted first by surgeons and anesthesiologists with the main objective to increase patient safety (Melliere et al., 1996; Visset et al., 1993). Two major care quality reforms contributed to their development. First, in 1996, the hospital accreditation program was instituted (Giraud-Roufast and Chabot, 2008) and since, M&MCs have been recommended for assessing practices in hospital accreditation contexts. The third accreditation version in 2010 will mandate M&MCs in several disciplines (i.e. surgery, intensive care and oncology) (HAS, 2010). Second, in 2004, as part of the law reforming National Health Insurance, medical care quality assurance became mandatory. In this context, M&MCs were validated by the French National Authority for Health (Haute Autorite de Sante) to help physicians evaluate their practices. Our aims, therefore, were to: evaluate M&MCs in a university-affiliated hospital; describe their format in the different departments; and explore their evolution since 1990.\nMethods: Design and setting\nResults: M&MC census\nDiscussion: Our study showed that medical teams conducted more M&MCs in the past two decades; increasing from five in 1994 to 27 in 2007, even though they were not mandatory. Indeed, contrary to North America, France M&MCs are not part of the physician's educational program. They have appeared progressively as a means to quality assurance and to improve safety. Other studies showed that M&MCs are the preferred tool for assessing practices (Hobgood et al., 2000). Our study provided an opportunity to compare M&MC characteristics between 1998 and 2007. Conferences increased in all departments most particularly in medical units, where there were almost non-existent before 2000. Moreover, the conference format has evolved; paramedical staff and head nurse attendance is more accepted. Documents (including procedure outline, summary and annual activity report) were produced in only 30 percent of M&MCs; showing that this practice has not yet fully integrated in our institution, although it has improved since 1998. Only one physician criticized administrative aspects.All conference heads held positive opinions about M&MCs. They considered them a means to improve medical practices. These conferences lead to: reviewing medical decisions a-posteriori; discussing them with peers; and if necessary reviewing the literature and recommendations. Furthermore, physicians perceive M&MCs as a means to identify organizational problems that can then be solved. As was shown in this study, M&MCs were put forward to increase medical and paramedical team cohesion and by offering a forum for open discussion (Aboumatar et al., 2007; Harbison and Regehr, 1999; Kim et al., 2006). Indeed, discussions are not aimed at blaming and criticizing individuals. Furthermore, M&MC leaders allow all staff members to participate, thereby making team cooperation easier (Aboumatar et al., 2007; Harbison and Regehr, 1999). In more than half the M&MCs, outside physicians were invited. When a case discussed in a conference involved physicians or professionals from different specialties, wider attendance should be encouraged.Our study showed that M&MC formats varied widely. This heterogeneity has been described in other settings (Aboumatar et al., 2007; Harbison and Regehr, 1999; Kim et al., 2006; Orlander et al., 2002; Seigel et al., 2010). Several authors pointed out that well-defined M&MC formats were lacking. Consequently, leaders organize conferences according to their own objectives and experience. This heterogeneity may limit efficacy (Kim et al., 2006; Miller et al., 2006; Orlander et al., 2002; Orlander and Fincke, 2003). Indeed, case numbers examined per conference determine analytical thoroughness (Pierluissi et al., 2003; Wu et al., 2003). However, limiting cases risks missing important events and, therefore, several authors recommended analyzing all cases (Miller et al., 2006; Murayama et al., 2002). However, evidence on which approach is best regarding efficacy is lacking (Bal et al., 2010).Participant numbers and seniority are also likely to have an impact on M&MC efficacy. In our study we found that paramedical staff modified the discussion. In strictly medical M&MCs, discussion centered on clinical questions and medical practices, whereas in multidisciplinary M&MCs, organizational issues were more often discussed. Several authors claimed that the attendance of all staff in charge of patients guarantees efficacy (Aboumatar et al., 2007; Denis et al., 2003; Kim et al., 2006; Risucci et al., 2003; Thompson and Prior, 1992). Although this seems rational, no study substantiates this point. As was shown in a recent literature review (Bal et al., 2010), little evidence exists regarding factors affecting M&MC quality. Further studies are needed before recommendations can be made.Two distinct M&MCs can be described according to their main objective: physician education or service-quality improvement (Aboumatar et al., 2007; Bertrand et al., 1997; Gore, 2006; Harbison and Regehr, 1999; Murayama et al., 2002). Educational conferences are held mostly in surgical departments, which are less formalized and are attended mostly by physicians. Numerous cases are presented and discussion focuses on medical practices rather than organizational issues. Morbidity and mortality conferences centering on quality and safety are often encountered in medical and ICUs (Bertrand et al., 2000). Generally, all team members attend. Case numbers are lower and discussion is more thorough - analyzing causes is typical.Our study had several limitations. Although data were collected by interviews and written documents, several conferences were not documented, which precluded collecting objective data. We did not assess patient outcomes, which may have provided some insight into the better approaches for M&MCs. However, only a few studies objectified M&MC efficacy regarding patient outcomes, as they focused on particular activities (Bal et al., 2010; Gore, 2006; Risucci et al., 2003). We analyzed surgical, medical and ICU conferences and to our knowledge there is not a standardized indicator measuring M&MC efficacy. We looked at a single university-affiliated hospital and, therefore, results may not be generalized. Nevertheless, we studied all departments including surgical, medical and ICUs, and our findings were similar to North American studies' results. To conclude, M&MCs are recognized by physicians as a tool for improving quality and safety. Undefined formats allow staff leaders to conduct M&MCs according to their own objectives and how these conferences are conducted should influence healthcare quality and safety (Bechtold et al., 2007). However, M&MC efficacy indicators need defining.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This article aims to analyze morbidity and mortality conferences (M&MCs) in a university-affiliated hospital, notably their format and progression since the 1990s.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A cross-sectional study was conducted and M&MC characteristics were collected using three methods: a questionnaire to all department heads to identify past M&MCs; semi-structured interviews with each M&MC leader; and when available, meeting reports were analyzed.\nFindings: - Of 189 questionnaires sent to department heads, 105 were completed and returned (55.6 per cent). A total of 27 M&MCs were identified; five times more than in 1994. The M&MC format varied greatly between departments. In surgical units, cases per conference tended to be higher than in intensive care or medical units and paramedical staff were invited less often. Compared with 1998, head nurses (70.4 vs 27.3 percent, p=0.03) and paramedical staff (63.0 vs 18.2 percent, p=0.03) attendance increased significantly. Physicians considered M&MCs important for improving service quality, patient safety and enhancing team cohesion.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Patient outcomes were not assessed.\nPractical implications: - Although undefined formats allowed leaders to conduct M&MCs according to their objectives, how these conferences are conducted should impact healthcare quality and safety.\nOriginality/value: - Results indicate that M&MCs have evolved over the past 20 years, showing them to be valuable quality and safety improvement methods.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A study on factors influencing claims in general insurance business in India
|
[
"IRDA",
"Net liquidity",
"Operating expenses",
"Net claims",
"Insurance",
"Liquidity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Indian economic scenario has changed over last couple of decades in general and in post liberalization period in particular. Changes are even likely to get intensified in years to come owing to ongoing economic crisis. With changes already in hand and the changes that are likely to occur, industries would be constrained to go for newer means of business, newer methods, new investments and may be a complete restructuring of the business involving different nature and extent of risk complexion. Further in order to insure a sustained industrial growth, a sound general insurance mechanism, providing insurance coverage to the business and industry will be of great importance. The growth and financial soundness of general insurance business in itself will lead to growth, financial soundness and strength of the industry as a whole. Moreover, being in the business of covering risks, the general insurance players have to understand their own risks and also the risk of insured's. Since the source of largest outflow of money within an insurance company is the claims department, claims management is the key to developing operational excellence. Hence it is intended, through this study, to make an in-depth analysis of the performance of general insurance business in India with reference to claims management.\n2 Significance and scope: A lot of changes have taken place in the Indian economic scenario during last two decades. This is particularly true in the context of 1990s when the Indian economy assumed a structural change in terms of regulations, players and instruments. Prior to the turn of 1990s, general insurance business was wholly a state owned subject with General Insurance Corporation (GIC) controlling the general insurance market with its four subsidiaries, namely, National Insurance Corporation Ltd, New India Assurance Ltd, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and United India Insurance Company Ltd In pre-privatization period, the public sector players in general insurance business used to offer four categories of products namely motor, health, commercial/industrial and rural insurance. With the induction of private players into general insurance business in the post liberalization period not only that many new products in the prevalent product categories got infused but also new categories of products like agriculture insurance went into the hands of the buyers. The general insurance business in India in post liberalization period has been dynamically changing and upgrading its business operations in the field of product development, product pricing, actuary, underwriting, claims management, risk management, asset-liability management, reinsurance and customer relationship management.The changes in the economic policy with increasing emphasis on liberalization and open market system; transformation in the orientation of domestic general insurance market from sellers to buyers; enhanced incentives for global investments; establishment of IRDA with its dominating role in controlling and regulating the functioning of the players, have all rendered the general insurance business market of the pre liberalization period a complete obsolete.The changes that have taken place in the last decade will have long term implications not only for the institutions offering general insurance coverage but also on the instruments, risk outlook and the functioning of the players in terms of operations. Since the claims management is the key to developing operational excellence, it is a key element in the competition between insurance providers and for the improvement of industry's public image. Claims function plays a strategic role in differentiating a company from its competitors as it monitors costs and provides claims service that goes \"beyond expectations\" of customers and operate within budget.With induction of private players in the fray, general insurance business in India needs an extensive appraisal of its performance for better understanding of the impact of different performance variables on claims. Understanding behavior of the variables influencing performance of general insurance business in India will facilitate better decision making and risk management process of the players in the industry. The findings of current study will help policy formulators in bringing needed modifications to the existing policy and provisions which may further accelerate the industry.\n3 Literature review: The claims function plays an important strategic role in differentiating a company from its competitors. It not only has to monitor costs and provide claims services beyond the expectations of customers but also at the same time to operate within budget. The real credibility and trustworthiness of an insurance company is put to test when a claim actually arises.According to Tennyson and Salsas-Forn (2002), the research on insurer management of opportunism in claiming has resulted into two parallel literatures. One is a theoretical literature on insurance contracting that yields predictions about the nature of optimal auditing strategies for the deterrence of fraud whereas the other is a literature based upon statistical analysis of claims that yields empirical strategies for the detection of fraudulent claims. Further they linked the two literatures by providing an empirical assessment of insurers' auditing practices in relation to theoretical predictions. The findings of the above mention study are found to be consistent with use of rational auditing strategies by insurers and it recommends the use of audits for both deterrence and detection.In order to minimize the time and legal cost of claim settlement it is of utmost importance to decide the purview of inclusions under the covered peril. Oza (2008) emphasizes that insurance contracts being synallagmatic in nature with mutual obligations on the part of both insurer and insured, any claim that falls within the coverage and does not attract any exclusion should be paid and paid in full.In the Indian scenario high claim ratio has been a taxing component to the high underwriting losses both in the pre as well as post privatization era. Various studies has rendered that fraud has been one of the major reasons for the high volume of claims. According to Agarwal (2008) fraud is not always restricted to the cause of loss. In many cases it arises out of an over stated claim, a claim for assets which did not exist, false documentation and altered invoices. It also holds that an exaggerated or overstated claim is not necessarily a fraudulent claim. The study emphasizes on the need for looking into the intensions of the insured for proper quantification of claims thus leading to minimizing the claims overheads. The reason for such phenomenon has been stated by Bansal (2007) as disparity between the rate of increase in penetration and increased focus on scale of operations, competitive pricing, efficiency of policy serving and rate of claim disposal. This also leads to a fillip in non operating leakages and premiums impacting the bottom line of the general insurance players.An investigation into the reasons for the high claim rejection rates by Seth (2008) identifies it to as false statements made, failure to disclose relevant facts, claim does not falling within the items insured under the policy, failure of the insured to comply with the terms of the agreement, fraud, inordinate and unreasonable delay for the reporting of the incident, no consequential losses covered under policies and false statements made when applying for insurance. Since the repudiating a claim is subject to legal implications involving cost the insurers should be cautious in denying liability under a policy. Enforcing the thought and importance of communication of the same Ramesh (2008) states a valid general insurance contract may be avoided or rescinded by one of the parties to it on the ground of a misrepresentation, either by a positive act or by an omission, made during pre-contractual negotiations. In case of meeting a claim the reasons for rejection have to be cogent and have to be suitably communicated to the insured failing which the aggrieved insured has a right of action against the insurer. This may further escalate the legal cost of the claim settlement process.Along with the factors affecting the claims, the impact of regulatory norms on the same may not be understated. Jain (2004) has attempted to address certain basic issues relating to agricultural insurance in developing economies with reference to different operational heads, namely, premiums and claims. The study also makes a critical analysis of the impact of different regulatory changes over the period of the study. Bharat (2004) states that in India consumer complaints increase by over 25 percent on an average each year. It has been observed that it does not necessarily mean a proportionate rise in claims. One of the major reasons for the phenomenon has been found to be the high rate of consumer awareness. Hence it may be treated as a healthy sign for the industry. Emphasizing the importance of an effective claims management system Kishan (2006) says the real credibility and trustworthiness of a general insurance company is put to test when a claim actually arises. In other words an insurance company's reputation is evaluated by its ability to fulfill its promise of being there when the customer needs them the most. Moreover, an insurance company also has an arduous task to ensure an equitable and rational claims settlement. A sound claims settlement mechanism plays an intrinsic role in ensuring consumer centric insurance solutions.With the liberalization and entry of private companies in insurance, Indian insurance sector has started showing signs of significant change. The challenges faced by insurance sector pertaining to demand conditions are competition in the sector, product innovations, delivery and distribution systems, use of technology, and regulation. With the introduction of detarrifing in general insurance business the previously enjoyed pricing liberty by the public players has changed to a fiercely competitive environment (Krishnamurthy et al., 2005). Further Rao (2006) states that detariffing in India will put further pressure on insurers since they will have to compete on price and service in the form of claims as well. In need to improve claims effectiveness if they are unable to cut their present costs, then it will put an upward pressure on volumes. Study further suggests that in order to minimize the claim cost, the effectiveness and transparency of the grievance redressal cells should be ensured with periodical audits.Ang and Lai (1987) have developed an equilibrium model of insurance pricing integrating both the insurance and capital asset markets from the insurers' viewpoint. In contrast to the capital assets based models, it emphasizes the importance of the insurance market, i.e. the claim payments by all insurers as a whole, in pricing insurance premiums. The study established that premium for insurance is a function of both systematic insurance market risk and systematic capital market risk.Subsequently for insurance sector Powers et al. (1998) proposed a game-theoretic model to study various effects of scale in an insurance market. After reviewing a simple static model of insurer solvency in which all customers have inelastic demand, they have presented a one-period game in which both the buyers and sellers of insurance make strategic bids to determine market price and quantity.Nielson et al. (2005) has submitted the view that the risk management have evolved significantly over the past decades causing dramatic changes in the communication channels required to effectively handle the ever-changing risks a firm faces. The first generation of risk management dealt primarily with risks inside a company creating a need for internal risk communication. The second generation, which arose with the growth in third-party liability claims, involved many more stakeholders external to the company and forced the risk management function to deal with communications to these external parties. The third generation, which began as an expansion of the external risks that firms are exposed to, involves the board and senior management in risk communication function.Therefore, the main purpose of the study has been to make an in-depth analysis of the performance of general insurance business in India with reference to the claims management mechanism. It also covers the inter relationship that exists between the general insurance business segments of fire, marine and miscellaneous.\n4 Variables, objectives and hypothesis: Keeping in view the overall objectives of determining different factors that drive the general insurance business in India and also the factors that govern risk management profile of general insurance business, the variables that have been identified and used in the study are net claims, net premiums, commission, operating expenses, gross underwriting profit or loss, net profit, current assets, current liability, net liquidity, net assets, net liabilities, net solvency and investments.Further broad objectives for the current study are given as below:1. To find out the various factors which govern the claims management of general insurance business in India and its policy implications.2. To study the general insurance business sectors of private and public with reference to performance of general insurance claims in relation to variables like premiums, claims, operating expenses, commission, underwriting profits, net assets and so on.The following hypotheses have been formulated for the purpose of the study:H01. There is no relationship between insurance premiums and claims of general insurance business in India.H02. Solvency and investments are the significant factors of general insurance business in India.\n5 Data analysis: In this empirical study the dataset consists of the dependent variable \"claims\" and independent variables namely Premium, Commissions, Operating expenses, Underwriting Profit, Net profit, Liquidity, and Solvency, Investments. From the factor analysis, we know that 92.16 percent of information has been used in this study. It is fairly good amount of data contribution to the present study as it involves estimation of claims as well as finding relationship between claims and other macro economic variables through regression analysis.Statistical tools used in this analysis are factor analysis and ordinary linear regression (OLS).Based on the factor analysis using principle component (varimax rotation) method the variables Premium, Commissions, Operating expenses, Net profit, and Solvency, Investments have been identified as important and subsequently the OLS has been used to find out the average relationship between these variables and claims.5.1 Regression analysis (overall): claims versus solvency, investments\n6 Conclusion and scope of further research: There exists sufficient evidence for association (p=0.000) between type of sector (public or private) and segments of insurance namely fire, marine and miscellaneous. Thus, while formulating a new policy for the different segments of insurance there should be a coordination expected from the public and private sector companies in distribution of claims.It is difficult to generalize the findings since the study is confined to a definite period and to a definite section of general insurance business in India. Hence to arrive at any wide-ranging conclusion, the hypotheses needs to be further tested by way of additional research in the same field in different periods and even in different fields in the same period. For example, a similar study may be undertaken for the individual general insurance players for their different sections of products.Further the study may be replicated for the specialized general insurance players such as Export Credit Guarantee Corporation, Agriculture Insurance Corporation and Health Insurance Companies, which have not been considered for the present study.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: - The fact that complaints regarding general insurance claims are three times as numerous as those of life insurance claims suggests that claims behaviour of general insurers be investigated to minimize operating losses and ensure operational excellence. This paper seeks to address this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Study of variance and factor analysis has been undertaken to achieve the objective of identifying factors which govern claims in general insurance business. In order to understand the dependency of claims over the sectors and segments, statistical hypothesis testing along with cross tab analysis has been conducted. The study also evaluates the relationship of these factors over the sectors and segments by running a multiple regression.\nFindings: - An empirical result of the study proves that there exists an association between type of sectors, i.e. public and private and segments of insurance namely fire, marine and miscellaneous. The study also suggests a claim projection model for the general insurance players.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Exclusion of specialized players due to the reason being new entrants and in order to maintain common parlance of sectors may be a limitation to this study.\nOriginality/value: - The study recommends that insurance players should not treat the claims settlement strategies in isolation of segments. The claims projection model as suggested in the study may prove to be extremely helpful in projecting the claims and in turn reduce the increasing underwriting losses.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Retirement concerns and financial literacy in Brunei
|
[
"Retirement",
"Financial literacy",
"Pension reform"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Over the past few decades, the importance of financial literacy has led to financial research ranging from identifying individuals likely to be financial literate, to determining the role of financial literacy in debt management and bankruptcy. In the field of personal finance, financial literacy is also commonly touched upon in retirement studies, given the potential benefits that it can bring to retirement planning. For instance, Lusardi and Mitchell (2007), when assessing early baby boomers, found knowledge on compounding as a key variable across retirement planners compared to non-planners; planning is associated with wealth holdings, whereby planners are relatively well-off compared to those who did not plan for retirement. Other studies related to financial literacy vis-a-vis retirement planning assess the role of financial literacy in the use of retirement tools, including the asset allocation of investment portfolios and use of financial advice, among others.Besides the growing research on financial literacy, recent decades have also witnessed several government reforms on pensions resulting in changes to retirement age and/or pension schemes. These government reforms exist in developed and developing countries, though each country has its unique context onto which pension schemes are developed. Nonetheless, a familiar theme when pensions are discussed relates to retirement concerns. Given the uncertainty of the future and the transition from working life to retirement, retirement concerns notably sufficiency of retirement income, and is a key topic in the public and private sphere. In this paper, unless stated otherwise, retirement concerns refer to the level of confidence on retirement income sufficiency.Despite the inclusion of financial literacy in retirement studies, there are limited studies that look into retirement concerns, comparing the financially literate versus less financially literate, and how financial literacy plays a role in understanding retirement concerns. Understanding retirement concerns prior to retirement is arguably important given how it affects retirement satisfaction and how it may lead to feelings that one may 'never retire' due to insufficient retirement income (Hanna, et al, 2017). Understanding retirement concerns may also assist policymakers to consider approaches to manage post-retirement concerns, within the realm of financial literacy.To further explore the relationship between financial literacy and retirement concerns, this paper looks into groupings of individuals in Brunei, including those who fall into a Defined Contribution Plan (DCP) known as Tabung Amanah Pekerja (TAP), and those who fall into a Defined Benefit Plan (DBP) known as Government Pension. More specifically, this paper aims at assessing the retirement concerns in Brunei and the role of financial literacy in managing them. Such an understanding of the role of financial literacy vis-a-vis retirement concerns may also be useful for neighbouring countries with similar socio-cultural aspects such as Malaysia.To facilitate this objective in understanding the relationship between financial literacy and retirement concerns in Brunei, existing literature is detailed in Section 2, followed by a background on retirement schemes in Brunei and the research design in Sections 3 and 4, respectively. Towards the end, key findings and implications are discussed.\n2. Review of literature: 2.1 Financial literacy\n3. Case: retirement in Brunei Darussalam: Prior to 1993, two main retirement schemes for government employees were the Government Pension and Old Age Pensions (OAP). The Government Pension was a Defined Benefit Plan, with retirees attaining at least 75 per cent of their final salary as lifetime income (Hajah Sainah, 2010), while the OAP is a universal pension scheme applicable to Bruneians. At present, the OAP provides individuals aged 60 years and above BND250 (USD185) per month.The Government Pension is no longer applicable for public servants since 1993, replaced by two existing pension schemes, TAP and Supplementary Contributory Pensions (SCP) introduced in 1993 and 2010, respectively. Both are DCP schemes involving compulsory contributions by participants, matched by the employer. A distinct difference is the principal and returns from TAP are provided as a lump sum to participants at age 55 (the previous retirement age in Brunei), while the OAP is an annuity with monthly disbursement from age 60 for a period of 20 years. In both schemes, participants may voluntarily add further contributions, though employers are not required to match voluntary contributions.In Brunei, there are limited studies examining retirement concerns and financial literacy. Ak Md Hasnol Alwee (2013) assessed savings motives of welfare and non-welfare recipients in the largest district, Brunei-Muara district, and found those in the private sector, self-employed, working in agriculture and fisheries are 2.37 times more likely to save for retirement (excluding TAP and SCP), compared to government sector employees. This is interesting because the government had introduced SCP with the aim to increase retirement saving, notably for lower pay scale employees. Therefore, it is possible that government employees are underestimating their retirement needs compared to non-government employees. However, these findings are not generalisable to the Bruneian population due to the non-random sampling nature of the study.In terms of retirement planning when asked if respondents have a financial plan, about 80 per cent of welfare recipients and 57 per cent of non-welfare recipients stated they have none. The lack of a retirement plan for non-welfare recipients is not surprising as high-income earners are 2.1 and 2.7 times more likely to plan for retirement compared to middle-income and low-income earners, respectively. When assessed on knowledge of retirement planning, high-income earners are 4.75 times more likely to answer correctly than low-income earners, highlighting the relationship of earnings with retirement planning knowledge (Ak Md Hasnol Alwee, 2013).In the financial industry in Brunei, there is increasing emphasis to improve financial literacy. In 2012, the central bank Authoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam highlighted via their policy statement, programmes intended to enhance financial literacy to the public (Authoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam, 2012). In 2015, 28th May was proclaimed as the National Savings Day in Brunei, followed by the establishment of the Financial Planning Association of Brunei Darussalam in 2016 to raise awareness on financial planning (Brudirect, 2016). In 2017, His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei established the National Financial Literacy Council towards ensuring '...Bruneians are able to achieve the highest financial well-being, given their resources and burdens, through the access to well-suited financial products, independent information and advice' (Authoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam, n.d, p. 1).\n4. Research design: This study is based on a cross-sectional design employing structured interviews on three groupings of individuals in 2016. Due to the lack of a population listing of retirement groupings, purposive sampling was undertaken. The groupings are:Group 1 - DBP group (Defined Benefit Plan: Government Pensions; age 45-54).Group 2 - Senior DCP group (Defined Contribution Plan: TAP and SCP; age 45-59).Group 3 - Young DCP group (Defined Contribution Plan: TAP and SCP; age 23-34).Out of 780 interviews, 687 (88 per cent) were deemed valid interviews. The breakdown is as follows (see Table I):Retirement concerns are gauged through the following questions:How confident are you that you will have enough money to take care of your expenses during your retirement?How confident are you that you will have enough money to take care of your basic needs during your retirement?How confident are you that your TAP/SCP/Government Pension will be enough to take care of your retirement?Possible responses include: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Less confident, Not At All and I Don't know.With regards to financial literacy, the following three questions were posed.Question 1 (Compounding)Let's say you have B$100 dollars in a savings account. The account earns 10 per cent returns per year. How much would you have in the account at the end of two years? [B$110/ B$115/ B$120/ B$121**/ None of the above/ I do not know]Questions 2 (Mutual Fund)A mutual fund is: [Similar to a savings account/ Similar to a fixed deposit/ Similar to a bond/sukuk /None of the above**/ I do not know]Question 3 (Diversification)In general, when an investor spreads money between 20 stocks, rather than 2, the risk of losing a lot of money: [Increases/ Decreases**/ Does not change/ I do not know]Questions 1 and 3 are adopted from financial literacy studies gauging compounding and diversification knowledge, respectively. Question 2 is ascertained given that investing in a mutual fund would provide the cost-efficient approach to investment for Bruneians, compared to individual stocks[5]. Responses are noted as 'Financial Sophistication 3' if all three questions are answered correctly, and 'Financial Sophistication 2' for two correct answers and so on.Pearson's chi-square tests and logistic regressions using SPSS are used to ascertain:Determinants of those less concerned, that is confident in meeting retirement needs.Determinants of those who possess an additional retirement plan.Determinants of those who are able to calculate amount needed for retirement.Socio-economic demographics and financial behaviour of those financially sophisticated.Multicollinearity, sample size and outlier issues are taken into consideration. The use of Pearson's chi-square test and logistics regression is pertinent considering categorical variables are involved (Pallant, 2010).\n5. Summary profile of respondents: In terms of similarities, across all groupings, the majority (over 90 per cent) are Malay respondents. Between the two senior groupings (DBP and DCP), the differences in average age are minimal, around three years apart, while the average age of the Young DCP grouping is 29. With regards to marital status, both senior groupings are largely composed of married respondents (around 80-90 per cent), while only 42 per cent of the Young DCP respondents are married.With regards to differences, the DBP largely comprised male respondents (90 per cent) compared to only 60 per cent for the DCP groupings. In terms of education, there is a sizeable portion (47 per cent) of Young DCP respondents who have at least a bachelor's degree, whilst the largest portion of senior groupings have a pre-college qualification (DBP: 31 per cent, Senior DCP: 42 per cent). In terms of government division[6], over a third of the Young DCP respondents are in Divisions 1 and 2 (39 per cent), while a sizeable portion of the Senior DCP and DBP respondents are in Division 4 (42 per cent) and Division 3 (44 per cent), respectively. With respect to home ownership, around 75 per cent of those in the senior groups lived in their own residence, while 71 per cent of Young DCP respondents lived in properties owned by their parents or family members (see Table II).\n6. Cross-tabulation results: 6.1 Retirement concerns\n7. Regression results: 7.1 Determinants of retirement concerns\n8. Implications of findings: 8.1 Value of private home ownership\n9. Conclusion: Given the increasing role of financial literacy in retirement research, this paper differs from other studies by exploring the relationship between retirement concerns and financial literacy. By assessing retirement concerns, the paper identifies significant variables that play a role in managing such concerns, notably the value of knowing the amount needed to save for retirement, towards creating an additional retirement plan and consequently towards mitigating retirement concerns. Further, the prevalence of receiving retirement advice in this study pinpoints to the need for quality retirement advice to optimise retirement savings. With respect to financial literacy, the findings indicate the relatively young respondents are more financially literate than senior groupings, but this may not translate to retirement behaviour as their financial focus appears to link towards private home ownership.Taken as a whole, future research may consider two aspects. For the young, there is a need to better understand the relationship between retirement planning, home ownership and financial literacy, notably in a climate of rising home costs. The somewhat more alarming context is for those approaching retirement in the next 10 years, as there is a need to consider approaches to manage their retirement needs. Even after the amount needed for their retirement is approximately known, the timing of increased investments, if any, may be too short to yield substantial returns. Ignoring their retirement needs at this juncture would adversely affect and place burden on welfare agencies and family support.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Despite the inclusion of financial literacy in retirement studies, there are limited studies that look into retirement concerns and how financial literacy plays a role in managing retirement concerns. Understanding retirement concerns prior to retirement is important given how it affects retirement satisfaction. Therefore, this paper aims at assessing the retirement concerns in Brunei and the role of financial literacy in managing those concerns.\nDesign/methodology/approach: 700 government employees, divided into three groups, were interviewed: Defined Contribution Plan (DCP) employees retiring in the next 10-15 years, DCP employees retiring in 20-30 years' time and Defined Benefit Plan (DBP) employees retiring in the next 10 years. Pearson's chi-square tests and logistic regressions were used to ascertain significant relationships.\nFindings: The results indicate the relatively younger DCP group is more likely to be financially literate compared to senior groups however, these respondents are more inclined to focus on private home ownership at this juncture. The findings also indicate the importance of knowing how much to save for retirement towards determining those with an additional retirement plan, and consequently reducing their retirement concerns. The value of financial advice is also significant in determining the amount to save for retirement and in possessing an additional retirement plan.\nResearch limitations/implications: Results cannot be generalised to the population, as purposive sampling was utilised due to the absence of a population frame.\nPractical implications: The implications of the paper may provide value to policymakers to consider approaches to enhance the quality of financial advice and provide sound knowledge in computing the amount needed for retirement. Understanding the role of financial literacy vis-a-vis retirement concerns may also be useful for neighbouring countries with similar socio-cultural aspects such as Malaysia.\nOriginality/value: Given the limited research on retirement concerns and financial literacy, this paper is one of the few to emphasise on the importance of knowing how much is needed to save for retirement, in relation to retirement concerns. This may also be useful in other countries/communities with similar retirement context such as those with relatively low retirement planning or with similar retirement schemes. Further, with the 1993 pension reform, there is no known publication on retirement concerns and expectations in Brunei. Left unchecked, it may lead to poverty in old age and/or dependency on welfare institutions and family support.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Intellectual capital in action: evidence from Italian local governments
|
[
"Intellectual capital disclosure",
"Intellectual capital",
"Principal component analysis",
"Local governments"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The increasing importance of the knowledge economy has aroused a considerable discussion among scholars concerning the definition, role, management and disclosure of the Intellectual capital (IC) (Guthrie et al., 2001; Lev et al., 2005; Marr et al., 2004; Guthrie and Petty, 2000; Ramirez-Corcoles, 2010; Ricceri, 2008). The importance initially given to identifying and disclosing IC in the private sector (see a synthesis in Zambon, 2016) has led to an osmosis in the non-profit and public sectors (Guthrie et al., 2009; Ramirez-Corcoles, 2010; Schneider and Samkin, 2008; Serrano Cinca et al., 2003), even as a consequence of the introduction of new public management (NPM) philosophy.\n2. Reasoning on IC in the public sector: A considerable time has gone by since IC was defined as an organization's most valuable asset, being a mix of non-physical resources, such as the wealth of knowledge, information, intellectual property and experience, to be used to achieve common welfare (Stewart and Losee, 1994).\n3. Setting the context: The Italian public administration has a three-tier structure: national government, regional governments (21) and local governments, comprising 110 provinces and 8,092 municipalities.\n4. Research design and methodology: The study aims to test to what extend the IC components are perceived by managers and politicians and if the need to measure and disclose them is recognized. To this end, qualitative data were gathered through a questionnaire involving managers and politicians of all ILGs with more than 40,000 inhabitants (no. 181). The population threshold was chosen to include all LGs that represented about 20 percent of the population, according to the 2011 Census. Moreover, previous studies suggested that size is an important factor since it reflects organizational complexity in terms of magnitude and scope of information which must be handled by the organization itself (Anderson and Lanen, 1999; Anessi-Pessina et al., 2008; Van Dooren, 2005).\n5. Looking at IC in action in ILGs: 5.1 Results of the survey\n6. Toward an \"empirical\" definition of IC in LGs: The results collected through the survey bring to light certain insights that deserve to be appropriately acknowledged.\n7. Conclusion: This study is founded on the third development stage of IC research (Massingham and Tam, 2015), with the main aim being not to explain through a prescriptive approach how IC should work, but to investigate how IC is perceived and works. Actually, this third stage has a more practical orientation, since it is based on a critical analysis of \"IC practices in action\" (Guthrie et al., 2012, p. 69), emphasizing the growing use of IC in assisting strategic planning (Whyte and Zyngier, 2014), also dealing with IC reporting, whose availability would positively affect the perception of IC in practice (Dumay and Tull, 2007).\n",
"role": "user"
},
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"content": "Purpose: Intellectual capital (IC) is attracting increasing attention from scholars and practitioners in the private sector, while research in the public sector is still in its embryonic stage, especially in regards to local governments. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by channelling conceptual and empirical findings from the large body of IC literature.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research investigates IC in action in the local government domain. A survey has been carried out involving both managers and politicians of all Italian local governments (ILGs) with more than 40,000 inhabitants. In order to define the constituents of each IC dimension perceived by ILGs, principal component analysis was used in investigating the results.\nFindings: Results highlights how IC components are perceived in ILGs: human capital is a combination of aptitudes in pursuing target performances, sense of ownership and motivations; relational capital is a combination of values, relationships and acts; structural capital includes procedures and routines supporting the decision-making process, the ability of achieving objectives and handling changes.\nResearch limitations/implications: While the research findings are limited due to being based on a survey in a single country, they present opportunities for future research regarding further testing of how IC is perceived in LGs in different context. The conclusion could be beneficial also for standard setters, providing a path to support the IC disclosure by LGs.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to a narrow strand of research - IC in LGs - adding new knowledge in \"IC in action\" research stream.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Impact of organizational citizenship behavior on job performance in Indian healthcare industries: The mediating role of social capital
|
[
"Social capital",
"India",
"Healthcare industry",
"Organizational citizenship behaviour",
"Competitive advantage",
"Job performance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: There has been a paradigm shift in organizational structures and relationships. Present-day organizations are moving away from traditional hierarchical and authoritative structures to autonomous team-based environments and job roles. This shift has led organizations to acknowledge the relevance of discretionary and individual initiative and cooperation. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), or behavior characterized by voluntary initiatives making prosocial contribution toward organization and coworkers, above and beyond their formal job roles, is gaining increasing importance in such an organizational context. Although OCB is not a part of the formal organizational structure or reward system, it has far-reaching implications on organizational and individual performance and effectiveness. These behaviors go a long way in maintaining positive organizational culture that reinforces employee engagement, employee commitment, employee motivation and job performance. The emphasis on inimitable or unique factors such as culture, knowledge and human resources in organizations has also led scholars and practitioners to give considerable importance to the concept of social capital. Social capital is considered as a resource or capital that allows an individual or organization to gain competitive advantage over others by virtue of the strategic position held in the network of relationships in which they are embedded. Social capital is also instrumental in influencing performance of individuals and organizations through cooperation, knowledge sharing and building relationships and networks. These relationships and networks serve as resources to gain competitive edge for individuals and organizations at large. The present study attempts to examine the relationship between OCB and job performance. It further tries to explore whether social capital acts as a mediator in the relationship between OCB and job performance. The present study explores the extant literature on OCB, social capital and job performance and further explains the relevance of such phenomena in the healthcare industry where the study has been conducted. The study was conducted in the healthcare industry since the nature of the industry, operations and organizational environment makes the performance of discretionary behaviors important to organizational functioning as well as to the formation of network structures, and to building social capital which are considered important to task performance. The researcher's work as a healthcare professional has led them to place the study in this context to explore the relationship between OCB, social capital and job performance in depth. The study proposes four hypotheses which are tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The next section is the literature review which is followed by the methodology and then the results. These are discussed and then implications and scope for future research are highlighted.\n2. Review of literature: The literature review section explores the extant literature on OCB, social capital and job performance, highlighting various theoretical and relational perspectives on the concepts.\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Sample and data collection\n4. Data analysis and findings: 4.1 Preliminary analysis\n5. Findings and discussion: The findings of the present study indicate that OCB significantly predicts job performance. The findings confirm the assertion of earlier studies which has found OCB to improve the ability of coworkers and managers to perform their jobs through more efficient planning, scheduling and problem solving (MacKenzie et al., 1991), and they contribute toward service quality (Hui et al., 2004). Organizations that foster good citizenship behaviors are more attractive places to work and are able to hire and retain the best people (George and Bettenhausen, 1990). Yadav and Punia (2013) in documenting the empirical research on OCB have examined the effect of OCB on job satisfaction, reward, emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, personality, organizational justice and extra role behavior and performance. Although it is not formally a part of the employee job description, it is seen to influence managerial perceptions of employees' evaluations (Whiting et al., 2008). This has also been corroborated by respondents who held managerial positions. They stated that evaluation of their subordinates is not just a function of fulfillment of their roles specified in job description but how far they extend themselves in being proactive toward accomplishing organizational requirements and sensitive toward coworkers. This was specifically mentioned in the context of older employees' handholding new recruits, helping in their organizational socializing process and on job training. OCBs influence employee evaluations because it includes a belief that OCBs are essential to the success of the organization. Voluntary participation in OCBs has been perceived as a sign of organizational dedication, and general expectation that OCBs should be performed and therefore OCBs are aggregated into overall job performance (Organ et al., 2006).\n6. Implications and scope for future research: The study has implications for organizations since it has highlighted the importance of OCB in predicting job performance through the mediating role of social capital. OCB creates social capital by building network structures which leads to superior performance in employees. Thus, the study has both theoretical and practical implications for practitioners in encouraging OCB and rewarding them so that it may lead to positive performance outcomes. Employee-friendly management practices should be adopted in organizations that facilitate the formation of network-building social capital which serves as an asset to organizations and creates competitive advantage. The findings of the present study cannot be generalized across organizations as the study was restricted to a few healthcare organizations only. Moreover, the study is silent about gender differences and does not report anything about the role of demographic variables in influencing outcome factors. Furthermore, research on these aspects may reveal more interesting results with regard to the effect of OCB and social capital across gender and different levels within organizations.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and job performance. It also examines the mediating role of social capital in influencing the relationship between OCB and job performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study explores the dynamic relationship among the variables of OCB and job performance and social capital. Data were collected from 501 respondents working in 15 healthcare organizations in Kolkata, India, through questionnaire survey. Likert-type rating scales of OCB, job performance and social capital with sound reliability and validity were used to carry out the survey. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.\nFindings: The results of the present study show that OCB significantly predicts job performance in healthcare organizations. Social capital found to be a significant mediator between OCB and job performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings of the study have a number of implications for organizations in acknowledging and leveraging social capital and encouraging OCB to facilitate superior performance of employees. The generalization of the findings of the study should be restricted to the healthcare organizations in Kolkata due to its own style of functioning, workforce and work environment. The role of demographic variables in influencing the outcome measures has not been considered for the present study. Further research on these aspects may reveal more interesting results with regard to the dynamics among organizational citizenship behavior, social capital and job performance.\nPractical implications: Employee-friendly management practices should be adopted in organizations to facilitate the formation of network building and development of social capital which serves as an asset to organizations and creates competitive advantage.\nOriginality/value: The research findings enrich our understanding of voluntary social participation and citizenship behavior of employees for influencing performance at work. The study also provides useful and unique insight on the benefits of networking in healthcare organizations particularly helping employees to cope with emergency situations. The findings as well as methodology used in this study are original and unique.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Building a better workforce: A case study in management simulations and experiential learning in the construction industry
|
[
"Case study",
"Simulation",
"Action learning",
"Self-efficacy",
"Building and construction sector"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Advances in technology have significantly enhanced the quality of simulations used to develop individual knowledge, skills and abilities in the workplace. Nonetheless, empirical data on the capacity of experiential learning to positively affect individuals' work-related self-efficacy remains under-explored. This research attempted to address this gap in the literature through a study of simulation management education and training in the Australian building and construction industry for early career managers. Findings from the study demonstrate that simulation-based training enhanced work-related self-efficacy of individuals. The study's findings also indicated that differences in individuals' levels of learning confidence and learning motivation prior to training and levels of supervisor support following training influenced the extent to which simulation-based training enhanced individuals' levels of work-related self-efficacy.\nSimulation as a form of experiential learning: There is increasing research within the education, learning and development literature that explores the use of simulations in action or experiential learning. The literature's definition of \"simulation\" is broad and includes the use of specific computer programs, the creation of virtual environments, and/or the use of role plays involving actors and/or trainers/facilitators. However, empirical research to date has tended to focus on reviewing specific programs or software or describing the technological features of simulations as opposed to examining the process of simulation as an experiential learning method (Bell et al., 2008). Nonetheless, it is clear that simulation-based learning, of whatever specific variety, is especially suited to disciplines and industries where on-the-job training or traditional learning methods are not practical due to safety, economic and/or time constraints (Long et al., 2010). This is partly due to the fact that simulations can increasingly create or replicate complex social systems and environments (Otoiu and Otoiu, 2012), enabling participants to develop and rehearse problem solving and creative thinking abilities in a safe environment (Deshpande and Huang, 2008; Sitzmann, 2011). Consequently, being able to make decisions in a virtual reality, i.e. a safe and supportive environment without \"real\" repercussions or consequences becomes a key benefit of simulation systems in experiential learning. This approach to experiential learning can therefore be an effective tool for developing skills and deeper levels of learning in adults, particularly in the work environment (Marquardt et al., 2010; Sitzmann, 2011).\nMethodology: As has been highlighted, a key limitation to the extant research is the scarcity of empirical data concerning simulation as a form of experiential learning and specifically the development of work-related self-efficacy amongst individuals. Currently there is also very little known in relation to how differences between individuals in relation to their levels of learning confidence and motivation prior to training and the levels of supervisor support individuals receive following training affect the outcomes of simulation-based training. This study therefore investigates individuals' levels of work-related self-efficacy before and after simulation-based training. The study is also designed to investigate whether individuals' levels of learning confidence and motivation prior to training and their perceived levels of supervisor support following training influence the capacity of simulation-based training to enhance their work-related self-efficacy. As such, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is adopted to best interrogate, extract and analyse this information. Consequently, the following four hypotheses are proposed:\nResults: This section presents the significant correlations between the variables in the study and the non-parametric tests used to test the four hypotheses.\nDiscussion: The results provided support for all four hypotheses. First, and most significantly, the results demonstrated that individuals reported significantly higher levels of work-related self-efficacy following simulation-based training. These findings supported H1 and are consistent with the findings of Bylund et al. (2011) that self-efficacy can be effectively enhanced in individuals through training. Also supported were the findings of Doyle et al. (2011) and Sitzmann (2011) regarding the specific positive impact of simulation-based training on self-efficacy levels. The second hypothesis, that higher levels of learning confidence prior to simulation-based training would be associated with higher levels of work-related self-efficacy following training, was also supported. The results also demonstrated that higher levels of learning motivation prior to simulation-based training were associated with higher levels of work-related self-efficacy following training, thus supporting H3. Finally, H4 was also supported, with the results showing that higher levels of supervisor support following simulation-based training were associated with higher levels of work-related self-efficacy following training.\nConclusion: This research has attempted to address a gap in the literature through a study that has considered the impact of simulation-based training on work-related self-efficacy and the effect of differences in individuals' levels of learning confidence and learning motivation. In addition, the study explored the contextual aspect of supervisor support and its influence on the extent to which simulation-based training is transferred to the workplace. Findings from the quantitative quasi-experiment demonstrated that simulation-based training does enhance the work-related self-efficacy of individuals. The study's findings also indicated that differences in individuals' levels of learning confidence and learning motivation prior to training and trainees' levels of supervisor support following training influences the extent to which simulation-based training enhances individuals' levels of work-related self-efficacy.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of experiential simulation-based learning of employee self-efficacy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research approach is an exploratory case study of a group of trainees from the same organisation. Using a quasi-experiment, one group, pre-test-post-test design (Tharenou et al., 2007), a questionnaire with validated scales at Time 1 (T1) prior to training and Time (T2) three months after training were used. All scales had been validated by the researchers and had acceptable levels of reliability. In addition interviews are undertaken with the participants immediately at the end of the programme.\nFindings: The research found strong evidence of the positive impact of the training on skills transfer to the workplace with support from supervisors as key criteria.\nResearch limitations/implications: There remains a need for additional studies with larger and more diverse samples and studies which incorporate control groups into their design.\nPractical implications: This study provided support for the transfer of knowledge using simulation-based training and advances our limited knowledge and understanding of simulation-based training as a form of experiential (management) learning and development.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study to undertake a longitudinal analysis of the impact on self-efficacy in the workplace and as such adds to the research in this field.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Increased understanding of service experiences through involving users in service development
|
[
"Service industries",
"Mobile communications",
"Service levels",
"User studies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper focuses on the development of technology-based services, i.e. services implemented using technology, and often combining hardware and software. The infusion of technology into services is radically changing the premises of delivering value to the customer. There has been an enormous growth in services requiring customers to interact with technology-based systems rather than company personnel (Bitner et al., 2000; Meuter et al., 2000); for example, internet services, self-service machines, and touch-phone services. These types of services typically lack the personal interaction occurring between service producer and customer (Edvardsson et al., 2005; Snellman and Vihtkari, 2003). Just how customers experience services is crucial to their perception of value (Bitner, 1992). As company personnel are not present at the time of consumption, they cannot influence the service experience; this situation makes it more difficult to deliver service experiences with a high-user value, regarding both the functional and emotional aspects of the service.Just how well a service manages to meet functional and emotional demands is crucial in determining its success in the marketplace. Previous research into the service experience has been inconclusive. The focus has mainly been on the functional qualities of products or services, but the emotional parts have largely been neglected (Wong, 2004). Furthermore, Cho and Lee (2005) stress that one of the most important issues in modern industry is to satisfy consumers' emotional demands. One plausible reason for this lack of attention may concern the previously mentioned situation, whereby company personnel are present during technology-based service encounters. It is thus difficult and expensive for many companies to conduct surveys concerning their customers' emotional experiences regarding a specific service. Nevertheless, it is of critical importance for companies that want to remain competitive on the market to understand how users actually experience and value their services. Many technology-based service companies are perceiving a more and more challenging level of competition as the market becomes more mature and the technical possibilities and functional service propositions become easier for competitors to copy. Hence, it is well known today that it is important for companies to focus on more than just the functional outcomes, i.e. what it is possible to accomplish when using the service. However, the emotional outcomes are of importance when creating favorable service propositions for users. But it is unclear how this can be managed in a successful way. How will it be possible to gain a better understanding of the users' overall service experiences?Previous theories have suggested that users should be considered as a valuable source of information when understanding the customer's value perception of technology-based services (Matthing et al., 2006). However, whether, or to what extent, users really are capable of coming up with ideas that incorporate both the emotional and functional aspects of a service experience has not been fully investigated. This may, for example, concern the question of how users value different kinds of functions and emotions, e.g. timesaving, joy, safety, etc.Consequently, in this paper, we investigate how involving users in the development process of new mobile phone services can contribute to understanding both the functional and the emotional aspects of the service experience in a technology-based service setting. From a managerial point of view, it is of interest to see whether it is possible to learn more about how users experience a technology-based service by involving them in the development process. Specifically, three research questions are taken into consideration:RQ1. Are functions and emotions perceived by the users as two entities that jointly create a service experience in a technology-based service?RQ2. Do users value functions more importantly than emotions (or vice versa) in technology-based services? This question is important since previous research often indicates that technology-based services primarily lead to functional outcomes.RQ3. Do user-generated and company-generated services create the same type of service experience? By answering this question, it will be possible to examine whether or not users contribute different types of value in a user-involvement project.In order to answer these questions, an experiment was conducted. Users, i.e. customers of a mobile phone service company, were asked to evaluate different kinds of services that were generated either by users or by a company.This paper is structured as follows. First, a brief synthesis is presented of the extant literature regarding the service experience in a technology-based service field and user involvement. Second, the method and results of the experiment are provided, designed to offer empirical evidence on the important role of user involvement in order to understand service experiences. Finally, research limitations, managerial implications, and suggestions for future research are given.\nTheoretical points of departure: As previously mentioned, it is difficult for managers to understand customers' service experiences when it comes to technology-based services. It can often be hard just to know what a customer's service experience is. This is an attempt to explain the service experience and the problem associated with understanding it.The technology-based service experience\nMethod: An experiment was conducted in order to investigate the effects of user involvement on the development of the functional and emotional aspects of the overall service experience of technology-based services. A total of 17 individuals, nine men and eight women, participated in the study. All were student's recruited on-campus, joining voluntarily without receiving any course credits.Design\nResults: All functions and emotions were subjected to factor analysis during which principal component analysis (PCA) was used to obtain the initial solutions. The purpose of the factor analysis was to investigate whether functions and emotions are perceived as two different and separate entities.Prior to performing PCA, the suitability of the data for factor analysis was assessed. Inspection of the correlation matrix revealed the presence of many coefficients of 0.4 and above. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was 0.80, exceeding the recommended value of 0.5. Bartlett's test of Sphericity reached statistical significance (p<0.001), supporting the factorability of the correlation matrix (Field, 2005).PCA yielded four factors with eigenvalues >=1.0, which together accounted for 61.8 percent of the overall variance. The eigenvalues of those factors were 5.2, 2.1, 1.9, and 1.4. Table I shows the full factor matrix.On the first rotated factor, substantial loadings were observed for measures of entertainment, connectedness, joy, affection, and flirting, among others, and for emotional values concerning pleasure and fun. The second rotated factor loadings were observed on health, alleviation, liking, contentment, and security and with regard to emotional values concerning harmony. The third rotated factor showed loadings on timesaving, cost reduction, and learning concerning functional value. The fourth rotated factor showed factor loading on surprise, anxiety, embarrassment and irritation concerning fear.After having read and become acquainted with 22 mobile phone services, the participants were asked to report different types of desirable experience (i.e. functional and emotional benefits) which they generally perceived to be important to them. By only including experiential values that received a means above the median nine different end values then emerged as important values of mobile pone service usage (Table II). The most desired outcomes were the feeling of security, cost reduction, and timesaving. Examples and ratings of different service descriptions outlining how a technology-based service would actually yield different functional and emotional values are illustrated in Table II.In order to examine the effects of user involvement on the quality of ideas, it was considered to be of interest to conduct an independent samples t-test to see whether ideas originating from companies were perceived to be better than ideas generated by users. For this analysis, we used the nine end values the participants suggested in Table II as the dependent variable. The means and standard deviations for the different value outcomes, stimulated by the ideas of the users and the companies, are presented below (Table III).Independent samples t tests were conducted in order to compare how well end values were triggered by the ideas generated by the users and services recently launched by telecom companies. There were significant differences in scores for pleasure and fun (t(378)=5.60, p<0.001) where the company ideas performed significantly better. On Harmony the difference between the groups was evident however not significant at the 0.05-level (t(378)=-1.78, p<0.076). Regarding functional value there were no significant difference at all. And for the final factor, fear, there was a difference where ideas from users were assessed as significantly better (t(378)=-2.06, p<0.040). It is of interest to note that the services generated by companies were perceived as significantly better when it comes to services aimed at generating emotionally oriented outcomes concerning pleasure and fun. However, for fear, the pattern was inverted as user ideas came out on top.In order to find out which variables best predicted the word-of-mouth recommendations for mobile telephone services, a stepwise regression analysis was computed (Table IV).As evident from Table IV, the factors harmony, and functional value, came out as the best predictors of whether or not consumers will recommend mobile telephony services to others. This result should be compared to Table II.\nDiscussion: The present study was conducted in order to gain knowledge of how involving users in the ideation process for new technology-based services can contribute toward grasping the functional and emotional aspects of the overall service experience. User-created service ideas/descriptions were compared with existing services/descriptions on the telecom market to compare how they differed in both function and emotional aspects. The intention was to establish whether functional and emotional experience outcomes were perceived as two separate entities and, if so, whether emotional outcomes were perceived as being equally important as functional outcomes for technology-based services. The RQ2 concerned what functional and emotional outcomes users appreciate when consuming and using mobile telephony services. Finally, are user-generated services different than expert-created ones; thus, can services created by users supplement company-created services?The present paper is important as it stresses that service experiences are composed by both functional and emotional values, in opposite to most other studies that focused either on functional values (Zeithaml, 1988), or emotional values (Bagozzi et al., 1999), as the foundation of a service experience. Furthermore, the present study provides with illustrations of how a non-hedonic service contribute to emotional experiences during individuals consumption. In comparison, previous studies have mostly focused on hedonic services and the related experiental outcome of such. Finally, the present paper shows that users differentiate from companies in-house developers when they genereate and evalute mobile phone offerings as one example of technology-based services.Differentiating between functional and emotional aspects\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to bring better understanding to how involving users in the development process of new mobile phone services can increase understanding of the overall service experience in a technology-based service setting.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper is based on an experimental setting which aims to emulate the involvement of users in a service development process in order to provide information regarding the overall service experience. This is done by letting users evaluate both user- and company-created services.\nFindings: - Users are found to be an important information source when it comes to understanding the overall service experience of technology-based services. The paper shows that users are to some extent better at coming up with services regarding value in use. The findings show that some of the most important experience outcomes that are demanded, functionally related outcomes, are better met by user-created services.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper provides empirical evidence regarding the importance of a user perspective when it comes to understanding both the functional and emotional parts of the overall technology-based service experience. The result of this paper implies a more advanced user focus during service development in order to be able to know what it is that creates value for technology-based service users. Just how technology-based services are functionally and emotionally experienced by their users is a fairly new research area and more empirical studies regarding this subject will be called for in the future.\nOriginality/value: - This paper provides evidence of the importance of a user perspective when creating value propositions for technology-based service users. From a managerial point of view, it is of interest to see whether it will be possible to learn more about the users' service experience of technology-based services by involving them in the development process.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The negative effects of job embeddedness on performance
|
[
"Attitudes",
"Job performance",
"Citizenship",
"Social exchange"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: For more than a decade, turnover scholars have investigated a construct that represents a departure from previous research that considered why people leave their organizations. That construct, job embeddedness (JE), instead emphasizes why people stay with an organization (Dalal et al., 2009; Mitchell et al., 2001). JE measures the degree of attachment workers feel to their job as a result of organizational and community forces (Yao et al., 2004). Though originally created to predict job stability, scholars have predicted that JE also has implications for employee performance. Specifically, greater JE should increase motivation to perform because highly embedded employees are connected to people and projects, feel they fit with their jobs, and attach a high cost to leaving (Lee et al., 2004). For example, in their study on the effects of JE on negative shocks, Burton et al. (2010) found that JE buffered the effect of thoughts of leaving associated with negative events, and helped reduce the impact of negative shocks on performance.\nLiterature review and hypotheses: JE\nMethods: Participants and procedures\nResults: Table I presents the means, standard deviations, and correlations for all variables in this study. In contrast to some previous research (Lee et al., 2004), JE was not correlated with task performance or contextual performance. This finding is, however, consistent with other studies that found low correlations or non-significant main effects for JE on performance (Ng and Feldman, 2009; Sekiguchi et al., 2008). Indeed, Sekiguchi et al. (2008) suggested that the direct effects between JE and performance should not be high. Further, moderated regression results from their study on embeddedness and leader-member exchange did not indicate a main effect between JE and performance despite overall model significance.\nDiscussion: This study explored conditions under which JE may have adverse effects on performance, creating a potential dark side of JE. Overall findings provide initial support for the proposition that, under certain conditions, JE may be detrimental to both task performance and contextual performance. Specifically, when employees in our sample reported low social exchange, the relationships between JE and both measures of performance were negative. For individuals who reported a greater degree of economic exchange, the relationship between JE and performance was also negative.\nConclusion: The current study explores the potential negative performance implications of JE and uses contextual performance to examine citizenship behavior. This study takes a step toward better understanding the dark side of JE, which can arise when the web of connections that creates embeddedness serves to trap an individual in an organization. In all, this study speaks to the emotional side of JE and considers how motivation may influence embeddedness to produce adverse consequences for organizations.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the boundary conditions of job embeddedness (JE), considering whether certain conditions of high embeddedness may have a potential dark side leading to lower employee performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Hierarchical moderated regression was used to test the interactions between JE, economic exchange, and social exchange.\nFindings: Results indicate that under certain exchange conditions, JE can have negative implications for performance.\nPractical implications: Consideration should be given to how management interventions come together to motivate employees and impact performance.\nOriginality/value: This study speaks to the possible negative side of JE and provides support for its potential to produce adverse consequences for organizations under certain contexts.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Reliability centered maintenance actions prioritization using fuzzy inference systems
|
[
"Optimization",
"Action prioritization",
"Fuzzy inference systems",
"Reliability centred maintenance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Maintenance strategies and policies are critical enablers for optimal asset management (AM) in general and operable assets in specific. Appropriate maintenance strategies improve assets availability and reliability which will in turn maximize productivity and minimize total maintenance costs. Complexity of assets, operational demand forecasting, failure data collection, and accuracy of data among other factors makes the selection of maintenance strategy and cost estimation extremely challenging. Koronios et al. (2007) estimated that operation and maintenance phase cost can contribute to as much as 70 percent of the operable assets total cost of ownership. Alsyouf (2007) conducted a study on a Swedish paper mill and showed that the mill can generate an extra $0.975 million per year, if it avoids all unplanned failures and bad quality production due to maintenance related causes. The well-known reliability centered maintenance (RCM) is a systematic maintenance program used to select the most efficient maintenance tasks and schedule to prevent a failure, or minimize the consequences of failures when occurs. Moubray (1997) defined RCM as a methodology to determine what must be done to ensure that the asset is running and fullfiling its intended function. RCM programs are similar to the traditional failure modes and effects analysis where the focus is on the ability of the system to deliver its primary functions. Moreover, RCM assures that maintenance activities and schedule provide an added value to the reliability and availability of operating systems. Although RCM had its origin in the commercial airline industry in the 1960s (FAA/Industry Reliability Program, 1961), it has been used in steel industries (Deshpande and Modak, 2002), railroad industry (Carretero et al., 2003), power distribution (Yssaad et al., 2014), wind turbines (Fischer et al., 2012), construction (Wheeler, 2007) among other industries. Rausand (1998) presented a structured approach to RCM using twelve steps with a detailed explanation to each step.\n2. Problem statement: According to Pintelon and Van Puyvelde (2006), maintenance decision making can be broadly explained in terms of maintenance actions, policies, and concepts. In case of RCM, the final outcome is typically translated into actions aimed at failure impact (severity) reduction or failure frequency (occurrence) reduction (OR) or reduction in time to repair, and customer satisfaction improvement. Actions used in RCM analysis vary in terms of effect, financial implications, and effort. Although many researchers tackled the issue of introducing several maintenance strategies taking into account the correct mix of maintenance actions, they did not offer a general and quantitative view on how to select such actions (Faccio et al., 2014).\n3. Decision criteria: 3.1 Literature review\n4. Proposed methodology: The proposed methodology for RCM actions prioritization consists of the following four phases:\n5. Fuzzy logic: Fuzzy logic is a tool through which vague/imprecise expressions and subjective relationships are translated into their mathematical equivalents. As opposed to the classical (Boolean) logic that assumes a truth value for any proposition to be either 1 or 0 (true or false), fuzzy logic better resembles the human decision making process and allows for \"a degree of truth\" that may fall anywhere in the closed interval (0, 1). In reality, it is not uncommon for a SME to express his/her view using fuzzy verbatim such as \"not exactly, it is much more than that\" or \"it has a slight impact.\" This view can be expressed mathematically using a membership function; a function that defines the extent to which each point in the input space belongs to a specific set based on a scale that extends between 0 and 1. Examples for some of the most commonly used membership functions include triangular and trapezoidal functions (Carrasco et al., 2002). Given three values a, b and m for the input variable x where a<m<b, the triangular membership function can be expressed as:\n6. Numerical example: brake circuit: Figure 4 depicts a simplified portion of a typical hydraulic circuit diagram used in construction equipment systems. The circuit is used as part of an emergency brake system activated manually using a parking brake and assisted with hydraulic pump. In the case of pump or hydraulic fluid loss, a warning is activated and a stored energy in the accumulators is next utilized to apply brake for several times and avoid any catastrophic incidents.\n7. Conclusion: RCM is a systematic approach that seeks to outline all functional failures along with their effects and potential causes. Typically, failures are ranked based on severity (i.e. consequences) of the effect. In principle, failures with high severity can be managed through actions aimed at probability of failure OR and/or changing the consequence (CC) as shown in Table IV. It is from the authors' experience that actions aimed at changing consequences (CC) are typically far more economical to implement than OR related actions. This is particularly true when dealing with electronic hardware and firmware failure modes. In this paper, a model for the prioritization of RCM actions is proposed and demonstrated using a real-life example of a hydraulic brake. The prioritization takes place based on several criteria where the model favors failure modes with the highest consequences (severity), highest benefit-to-cost ratio resulting from failure occurrence and maintenance time reduction, highest potential customer satisfaction, and least action implementation effort. The model developed also incorporates SMEs opinions in order to come up with linguistic ratings of the actions with respect to customer satisfaction and implementation efforts. In addition, the weights of the respective criteria are determined in consultation with the SMEs whose input is aggregated through the use of If-Then rule-based FIS to obtain a fuzzy linguistic variable that is then defuzzied to a crisp value using the centroid method. The computational results indicate that the selection of which maintenance actions to carry out is impacted by the relative importance (i.e. weight) of the considered criteria. The work presented in this paper provides the decision makers with a well-structured methodology that helps in selecting the most relevant maintenance actions instead of making the selection in a complete ad hoc manner or based merely on subjective opinions.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Deploying an effective maintenance strategy across an organization stands out as an essential risk mitigation measure that plays a critical role toward improving the reliability and availability of production facilities. The purpose of this paper is to propose a simple, yet well-structured approach toward prioritizing maintenance actions as part of a reliability centered maintenance (RCM) implementation plan, and selecting the most important subset of those actions subject to time and budget constraints.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A comprehensive RCM actions prioritization methodology is proposed using four criteria: severity, benefit to cost ratio, customer satisfaction, and easiness of action implementation. The method utilizes fuzzy inference system (FIS) to incorporate subject matter experts' feedback into the decision-making process. The output of the FIS, which takes the form of a numerical weight that assesses the relative importance of each criterion, is then fed into a binary integer program that selects the optimal maintenance actions out of a set of possible actions.\nFindings: The implementation of the developed methodology is demonstrated using a real-life example of a hydraulic brake system circuit that is used in construction equipment. The computational results illustrate the validity of the proposed approach and indicate that the selection of which maintenance actions to carry out is impacted by the relative importance (i.e. weight) of the considered criteria.\nOriginality/value: The work presented in this paper provides the decision makers with a systematic procedure that helps in selecting the most relevant maintenance actions instead of making the selection in a complete ad hoc manner or based merely on subjective opinions.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Market adoption of reverse factoring
|
[
"Bass diffusion model",
"Benefits analysis",
"Market adoption",
"Reverse factoring",
"Supply chain finance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The landscape of trade finance has seen considerable change since the turn of the millennium. Despite some periods of economic stagnation, global trade flows have grown substantially and the trend is expected to continue. As supply chains evolve to meet new logistical challenges in this globalized context, financial solutions must also keep pace (Richter et al., 2011). This is the domain of supply chain finance (SCF). Explicit reference to SCF appears as early as the work of Stemmler (2002), and a general definition is offered by Pfohl and Gomm (2009): collaborative, integrated financing arrangements that realize benefits for all supply chain participants. The theory and practice of SCF are, however, by no means mature. Further analysis of the complex dynamics and management challenges in financial supply chains remains an important task (More and Basu, 2013).\nLiterature review: Multiple, diverse streams of literature are relevant to a study of reverse factoring. As noted earlier, it can be seen as specific form of a more general SCF concept, although some authors, particularly in the trade and commercial press, use the terms interchangeably. SCF may itself be seen as a specific topic within a broader line of enquiry that constitutes the interface of operations and finance. Reverse factoring is thus an element of this interface, although by virtue of its formal attributes and applicability, it can be seen in direct relation to research on some mainstream finance topics, such as trade credit, small business finance, and entrepreneurial finance. We consider briefly below each of these areas in turn. Finally, since we utilize the methodology of system dynamics, we also place our work in the context of this literature.\nModel overview: Our model represents a set of buyer-centric supply chains that are considering the introduction of a reverse factoring arrangement. We focus on a single bank that will offer reverse factoring to each supply chain, i.e., a buyer and its associated suppliers. We assume that the market context can be represented by a common set of variables that impact all supply chain participants. The structure of the model is based on descriptions given by practitioners in dedicated treasury literature[1]. In this literature, direct benefits in short-term financing constitute the key factor that drives firms' implementation and subsequent use of a reverse factoring arrangement. Nevertheless, direct benefits - or even the opportunity to engage in reverse factoring - are contingent on the characteristics of the market for reverse factoring, including the implementation and usage decisions of other firms, as well as relevant economic factors. We describe first a sub-model that allows quantification of direct benefits. We then describe our market model for reverse factoring. The market model encompasses the direct benefits sub-model and adds endogenous and exogenous factors that cause the direct benefits for supply chain members to evolve.\nAnalysis: The market model is analyzed through simulation. The initial model parameters are based on numerical examples found in literature and case - studies that describe supply chains where a reverse factoring arrangement is expected to be beneficial (cf. Hofmann and Belin, 2011; Dunn, 2011). We set the time horizon for the study at ten years, in order to allow for a full development of market potential. This period corresponds roughly to two economic bust-and-boom cycles, each lasting five years. Appendix 1 gives an overview of all initial values in the simulation model.\nResults: The following two subsections give the results of the simulation. For each scenario, we highlight the development of the market for reverse factoring and the underlying fluctuations in the benefits that are available to the different members of the supply chain. We consider first the regular market scenario, then the exceptional market scenario. The set of initial values for all variables, which is the same across both market scenarios, is described in Appendix 1. The evolution of the exogenous factors for each scenario is shown graphically in Appendix 2.\nDiscussion: The exogenous factors in our market scenarios are the primary drivers that impact the adoption of reverse factoring arrangements. Although other factors may be relevant, the ones we have chosen are most readily quantifiable and have greatest impact on the direct benefits for the supply chain participants. By using the system dynamics methodology, we can allow for effects that result from interaction of the various exogenous factors, and thereby reveal the development of the market.\nConclusion: The market for SCF products is inherently dynamic: exogenous factors, such as interest rates, and endogenous factors, such as reputations, influence the evolution of the system. We model a specific type of SCF solution, reverse factoring, by means of system dynamics. This methodology allows us to explore the influence of exogenous and endogenous factors on the direct benefits that supply chain participants can obtain from a reverse factoring arrangement. On the further assumption that participation decisions are based on direct benefits, our model reveals the evolution of the market in different scenarios.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show that market dynamics can significantly influence the lifecycle and value of a supply chain finance (SCF) arrangement.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on a review of scientific and trade literature, the authors construct a model of market dynamics for reverse factoring, a specific type of SCF arrangement. The authors assume that firms' participation in a reverse factoring arrangement is determined by the direct benefits they can derive from it. The authors analyse the model by means of simulation in system dynamics.\nFindings: The authors identify the following market factors as key for direct benefits: competition, interest rates, receivables volumes, and firms' working capital goals. The authors find that reverse factoring can yield direct benefits for all supply chain participants, but that these benefits are highly sensitive to market conditions.\nResearch limitations/implications: The model is stylized, but this study shows the need for further research on the dynamic aspects of SCF arrangements.\nPractical implications: The authors show that supply chain actors should carefully consider the expected evolution of market factors when deciding on participation in a reverse factoring arrangement.\nOriginality/value: Existing research on SCF arrangements almost exclusively considers a static context, where market factors take fixed, known values. The authors provide the first study that links the direct benefits of SCF arrangements to dynamic, interacting market factors. The authors utilize system dynamics, a methodology well-suited to the analysis of such settings, to show that a comprehensive assessment of SCF arrangements cannot neglect the evolutionary perspective.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Value-at-risk: Techniques to account for leptokurtosis and asymmetric behavior in returns distributions
|
[
"Skewness",
"Value analysis",
"Probability calculations",
"Stock prices",
"Returns"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: History has shown that billions of dollars can be lost in a short time due to failure in controlling financial risks. With such extreme events, the development of reliable methods to monitor financial risk has become increasingly important (Bormetti et al., 2007; Gilli and Kellezi, 2006). Risk measures are critical for characterizing financial investment decisions (Hwang and Pedersen, 2004); as each institution measures the amount of risk it takes on over a period of a day, week, month, or year.As imposed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a financial institution is obligated to meet capital requirements to cover potential losses due to sources of risk during normal operations: namely, credit risk, operational risk, and market risk (Bormetti et al., 2007). As noted by Hopper (1996), a financial firm may want to understand potential losses to its portfolios in order to better allocate its funds and plan for payments to investors.In recent years, value-at-risk (VaR) has become the most popular among risk managers as the best and simplest method to predict losses of an asset, portfolio, or even an entire firm. The VaR of a portfolio measures the maximum loss suffered during a specific time horizon within a given confidence level (i.e. 99 percent), conditioned such that the composition remains unchanged. For example, if VaR is $2M, then the average loss of the portfolio will not exceed $2M over the one-day horizon on 99 out of 100 trading days with a 99 percent confidence level. VaR has become a standard component for risk management because of its conceptual simplicity and accuracy of estimating risk at a reasonable computational cost.Of course, this utility does not always imply reliability. There are many different methods to calculated VaR, ranging from a simple historical simulation to a complex semi-parametric approach. Most VaR estimates are evaluated from historically estimated probability density functions (PDFs), which limit the predictive power of future risk measures (see Figure 1 for return series PDF). The major source of error in predicting future VaRs from historical data is the actual shape of the PDF, which can differ significantly from the one used in the past. For this reason, economists are now focusing their efforts on creating a robust parametric VaR model that not only accounts for leptokurtosis and skewness in the returns distribution, but is computed in a reasonable amount of time.This paper provides an overview of VaR and describes some of the most recent computational approaches. Section 2 introduces methods of computing VaR, detecting non-normality (using quantile-quantile (Q-Q) plots, sample mean excess function (MEF), and moment analysis), and characterizing the returns distribution through parametric models (such as the Student-t distribution, autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (ARCH) method, and extreme value theory (EVT)). Section 3 summarizes comparisons made between parametric models taken from various sources of recent research. In Section 4, the importance of risk management and regulatory requirements is discussed. This section also presents means of backtesting and measuring model accuracy. Section 5 then draws conclusions from the information presented.\n2 Methods: 2.1 VaR methodology\n3 Comparison of models: 3.1 Student-t vs Normal distributions assuming an ARCH modeling approach\n4 Discussion: 4.1 Risk management\n5 Conclusions: The last few years in financial markets have been plagued with instability and high volatility. In order to capture the amount of risk a financial firm takes on in a single trading day, risk managers use a technology known as VaR. VaR analysis has been the prominent risk measure because it allows the manager to take the risk of an entire portfolio and reduce it to a single number that can be compared with other portfolios as well as other trading days. As advised by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, risk should be calculated for a 99 percent confidence level and utilize data from at least ten trading days. It is important for risk manager to produce accurate VaR measures because it reduces the firm's capital requirement and reassures creditors and investors of the firm's risk level.There are many methodologies available to calculate VaR and each has its limitations. Many of the past methods have included a normality assumption, which can often produce misleading figures as most financial returns are characterized by skewness (asymmetry) and leptokurtosis (fat-tails). In order to capture these two characteristics, recent research has utilized the third and fourth moments to estimate the shape index parameter of the tail. Other approaches, such as EVT, focus on the extreme values to calculate the tail ends of a distribution. By highlighting benefits and limitations of the Student-t, ARCH family of models, and the EVT, one can see that there is no one particular model that is best for computing VaR (although all of the models have proven to capture the fat-tailed nature better than a normal distribution). One must combine good risk management rationale to determine which model is best applied to certain situations.VaR enables a stronger enterprise level for risk management as risk managers now have increasing responsibilities to observe and report the daily risk of an entire firm. Sharma et al. (2004) note that the financial institutions that are best able to determine possible risks, effectively use modern information technology, and apply the most appropriate model, will certainly have a competitive edge over other institutions.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The last few years in the financial markets have shown great instability and high volatility. In order to capture the amount of risk a financial firm takes on in a single trading day, risk managers use a technology known as value-at-risk (VaR). There are many methodologies available to calculate VaR, and each has its limitations. Many past methods have included a normality assumption, which can often produce misleading figures as most financial returns are characterized by skewness (asymmetry) and leptokurtosis (fat-tails). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of VaR and describe some of the most recent computational approaches.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper compares the Student-t, autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (ARCH) family of models, and extreme value theory (EVT) as a means of capturing the fat-tailed nature of a returns distribution.\nFindings: - Recent research has utilized the third and fourth moments to estimate the shape index parameter of the tail. Other approaches, such as extreme value theory, focus on the extreme values to calculate the tail ends of a distribution. By highlighting benefits and limitations of the Student-t, autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (ARCH) family of models, and the extreme value theory, one can see that there is no one particular model that is best for computing VaR (although all of the models have proven to capture the fat-tailed nature better than a normal distribution).\nOriginality/value: - This paper details the basic advantages, disadvantages, and mathematics of current parametric methodologies used to assess value-at-risk (VaR), since accurate VaR measures reduce a firm's capital requirement and reassure creditors and investors of the firm's risk level.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Reshoring and insourcing: drivers and future research directions
|
[
"Location",
"Transaction cost economics",
"Insourcing",
"Make or buy",
"Organizational buying behaviour",
"Research agenda",
"Reshoring"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Outsourcing and offshoring are important business strategies and continue to be of significant interest to both managers and scholars (Tate et al., 2009; Hsiao et al., 2010; Bals et al., 2013). In the past, strategic decisions were often made to reduce costs and transfer risks and responsibilities to offshore subsidiaries and suppliers (Manuj and Mentzer, 2008). More recently, evidence suggests that managers have started to reverse previous outsourcing and offshoring strategies (McIvor, 2009). Studies suggest that 40 percent of managers perceive a trend toward countered reshoring and insourcing activities within five years after the initial decisions (Tate et al., 2014a; Kinkel, 2014). As a result, scholars are increasingly interested in the emerging reshoring and insourcing phenomena (Hameri and Hintsa, 2009; Cabral et al., 2013; Ellram, 2013; Fratocchi et al., 2014). However, as with emerging topics, the literature is fragmented and many questions remain unanswered (Arlbjorn and Mikkelsen, 2014).\nConceptualizing reshoring and insourcing decisions: We now turn to the conceptualization of reshoring and insourcing permutations, as shown in Figure 1. Offshoring and outsourcing are often interrelated international production and sourcing strategies implemented to realize performance improvements (Jahns et al., 2006). Outsourcing refers to work that \"is performed by independent parties who are not part of the firm's employee base\" (Ellram et al., 2008, p. 149), while offshoring refers to the relocation of value chain activities outside of the country of the firm's headquarters (Bals et al., 2013). Hence, the differentiating factors between the two are ownership and location (Jahns et al., 2006). Also, the two terms are not mutually exclusive and are often combined strategies (Bengtsson and Berggren, 2008).\nDrivers of reshoring and insourcing decisions from the TCE and OBB perspectives: The preceding sections defined the reshoring and insourcing permutations available to firms as ownership and locational strategies. This discussion sets up a definitional base from which to now focus on the drivers of reshoring and insourcing decisions. TCE and OBB provide established categories to structure reshoring and insourcing drivers along behavioral and transactional characteristics associated with the task (Williamson, 1975, 1985, 1998). TCE helps explain why firms integrate certain activities internally and source others from the market (Coase, 1937). Recently, researchers have begun to extend the tenets of TCE to encompass location decisions and strategies (Buckley and Casson, 2009; Schneider et al., 2013). In the pursuit of optimal locational choices and governance modes of transactions, decision makers compare transaction costs and benefits of current offshore-outsourcing operations to projected transaction costs and benefits of decision alternatives that involve reshoring and insourcing scenarios (Table II) (Chiles and McMackin, 1996).\nDirections for future research: Based on the specification of reshoring and insourcing permutations as well as their drivers, the following sections subsequently describe and elaborate on four FRDs in greater depth (Figure 2). For each of the four FRDs, a summary of suitable and concrete research suggestions is provided (see, Tables III-VI).\nConclusion: This research set out for two purposes: First, we sought to develop a more complete understanding of the underlying drivers of reshoring and insourcing decisions based on clear definitions of reshoring and insourcing permutations. Second, we provided specific directions for future research to further investigate the reshoring and insourcing driver-outcome relationship and additional contextual variables affecting it. Based on the analysis presented here, two main contributions are put forward.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Reshoring and insourcing decisions have been discussed in the popular press, yet coverage of these topics in the academic literature is limited. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it seeks to develop a more complete understanding of the underlying drivers of reshoring and insourcing decisions and their permutations. Second, it seeks to provide directions for future research to further analyze the link between drivers and outcomes of the reshoring and insourcing phenomena.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research follows a conceptual approach guided by transaction cost economics (TCE) and organizational buying behavior (OBB) theories. First, a theoretical framework of reshoring and insourcing decisions is developed. Next a comprehensive summary of reshoring and insourcing drivers is evaluated, yielding an in-depth discussion of future research directions (FRDs).\nFindings: The analysis demonstrates that the framework can be utilized to explain recent insourcing and reshoring changes of firms and to help dismantle the external and organizational challenges associated with reshoring and insourcing decision making.\nResearch limitations/implications: Three FRDs are presented in the light of TCE and OBB. A fourth research direction highlights additional contextual factors outside the scope of these two theoretical lenses. These four research directions yield insightful implications for scholars and contribute to the emerging reshoring and insourcing literature.\nPractical implications: The full array of potential reshoring and insourcing permutations are structured to allow for an elaboration of their respective drivers. Moreover, enablers and obstacles in implementing the multitude of combined reshoring and insourcing decisions are highlighted and summarized as contextual variables.\nOriginality/value: The concluding conceptual framework guides the evaluation of the reshoring and insourcing driver-outcome relationship across various value creation tasks and provides guidance to scholars and managers alike.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
State probabilities of a float system
|
[
"Maintenance",
"Queuing theory",
"Preventive maintenance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Several models, which optimise individual equipment maintenance, are found in scientific literature; basically they propose different ways to combine preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance and inspection such that an individual performance measure is maximized. However, when human or material resources are shared, equipment maintenance depends on maintenance state of other equipments sharing the same resources. A float system is defined as a closed queuing network, in which the machines alternate among operating, repairing and standby status and M machines are required to be in operation at the same time (Chen and Tseng, 2003).This paper presents an analytical method to determine the steady-state probabilities of a float system made up of M identical operating units, L maintenance crews and R spare units. Maintenance of float system has been described initially as a queuing model and been referred as a \"repairman's problem\" by Barlow and Proschan (1965). Koeningsberg (1960) used a two-stage cyclic queue model to study the effect of standby units on the efficiency of the system. One of the first attempts to determine the number of spare units was proposed by Levine (1965), who used analytical methods based on traditional reliability theory. The author introduced a reliability factor, designated by \"float factor\", based on the ratio (MTTR/MTBF).Gross et al. (1983), Madu (1988), Madu and Kuei (1996) used Buzen's algorithm. Gross et al. (1983) model a two-echelon repairable item provisioning. Madu (1988) models a maintenance network structure with minor and major repairs for load-independent service and determined the average number of units required to be in float in order to maximize the availability of the operating system. Madu and Kuei (1996) also consider load-independent service and develop models for computing network characteristics for a closed queuing maintenance network with four nodes: operations centre, diagnostics and minor repair centre, service station (for major repair), scrap and replacement.Lin, Madu et al. (1994) constructed a mathematical program to determine the optimal number of floats of an important module used in flexible manufacturing system and the optimal capacity of the repair station.Gupta and Rao (1996) present a recursive method to obtain the steady-state probability distribution of the number of down machines at arbitrary time epoch of a maintenance float system. A M/G/1 queue is considered (only one repairman). Various system performance measures are obtained for a variety of repair time distributions. Gupta (1997) deals with the same queue model but considers that the server takes a vacation of random duration every time the repair facility becomes empty.Zeng and Zhang (1997) consider a system where a key unit keeps the workstation functioning and a set of identical units are kept in a buffer to replace units sent for repair. The system is modelled as a closed queue (an M/M/S/F queue), and the idle probability of the system is then obtained. The optimal values of the capacity of the inventory buffer (F), the size of repair crew (S) and the mean repair rate are determined by minimizing the total cost.More recently, Shankar and Sahani (2003) consider a float system whose failures are classified as sudden and wear-out. Units subject to wear-out failures are replaced and submitted to preventive maintenance actions after a specific time period. Reliability analysis is used to study the effect of preventive maintenance and repair on the float factor introduced by Levine (1965).Several studies of float systems or multi-echelon float systems are made based on simulation methods (Madu and Kuei, 1992a; Madu and Kuei, 1992b; Madu et al., 1994; Kuei and Madu, 1994). Most of the studies based on simulation methods approach the design problem of float system through the development of metamodels (models that express the input-output relationship in the form of a regression equation). Some authors use Taguchi's techniques to construct the metamodel (Madu and Kuei, 1992a); Madu, 1999). Chen and Tseng (2003) use Neural Networks. However, while simulation and regression metamodels are useful in analysing complex problems, implementation of the results is often narrow. Metamodels make it possible to generalize simulation results but only within some well-defined boundaries. Madu and Kuei (1996) point out that \"When possible, a mathematical model that offers more general application should be used\".This paper presents a preventive maintenance model with replacement at constant time intervals or upon failure for a network with load-dependent maintenance service. The identification of the number of units under repair and overhaul as well as the number of units in the queue is essential to determine the system availability and resulting production loss.First, we determine the relationship between the length of the overhaul period and the system failure rate. After, we describe the system, its running process and the assumptions that have been made. Then, the model that determines the state probabilities is presented. We also present numerical examples and show some results. The final section presents the conclusions and future research direction.\nFailure rate: The failure rate of equipment submitted to overhauls (lf) depends on overhaul interval (T): Equation 1 As described below, performing overhauls at fixed intervals provides a decrease in individual failure rate (l) modeled by a factor a (which depends on T), varying in the interval [0; 1[. Theoretically, this factor can reach the value one, but due to the complexity of the system, it is not possible to obtain a failure rate equal to zero even if preventive maintenance is performed very frequently and in decreasing time intervals. Equation 2 Equation 3 For instance, to avoid 40 per cent (a=0.4) of failures, the overhaul interval must verify the equation: 0.4 = exp (-l.T) Equation 4 Then, when T tends to infinite (non-existence of preventive maintenance) lf tends to l and, when T converges to zero (preventive maintenance performed frequently) lf converges to zero too. This relationship implies that failure rate would be null only if overhauls were performed continuously (T=0), which is naturally unrealistic.When overhauls are performed periodically some equipment breakdowns are avoided, resulting in failure rate decrease. For a system in the stationary state, a transition period (where failure rate decreases) begins when first overhauls are carried out, and ends when the system returns to a stationary state with a constant failure rate lower than the initial one.\nSystem description: Notations\nState probabilities of the float system: Figure 3 shows the state diagram of the system that is being analysed.Five different situations have to be considered: Equation 6 Equation 7 Equation 8 Equation 9 Equation 10 Each situation is described below and differential equations are developed to further determine state probabilities. Equation 11 In this case, there are enough spare units to replace all the needed units and enough maintenance crews to initiate maintenance immediately.When i+j=L, if a failure occurs before an overhaul or repair is over, the repair could not be initiated immediately and the unit will be replaced if i+j<R; Likewise, if a unit needs an overhaul, this could not take place immediately, and the unit will continue working until a maintenance operation is concluded. Equation 12 Equation 13 *The number of units being repaired will be i+1, if a maintenance crew is available (i+j<L or i+j+1<=L), otherwise (i+j=L or i+j+1>L) the number of units being repaired will be calculated according to case 1 (see below).**The number of units being overhauled will be j+1, if a maintenance crew is available (i+j<L or i+j+1<=L), otherwise (i+j=L or i+j+1>L) the number of units being overhauled will be calculated according to case 1 (see below). Equation 14 In this case (see Figure 1), maintenance crews are all busy and cannot initiate any maintenance action immediately; then, a queue is formed.All units could be replaced but it is assumed that only failed units are replaced. Units that need an overhaul will continue to work until been attended, to avoid the use of a spare unit. This way, we have to consider the possibility of failure of a unit waiting for an overhaul. Then, the system can reach state (i,j), when it is in the state (i-1, j+1) through the failure of a unit that is waiting for an overhaul.The queue length is (i+j-L). The average number of active units waiting for an overhaul is (i+j-L).lrev/l (Mean of Binomial Distribution).As it can be seen in the following equation, when the system is in state (i-1,j), the number of units that may fail is given by: M-(i-1+j-L).lrev/l, where (i-1+j-L).lrev/l is the average number of units waiting for an overhaul whose failures imply a state change from state (i-1,j) to state (i,j-1) and not to state (i,j). Equation 15 Neither maintenance crews nor spare units are available (see Figure 1). Failed units join the waiting queue; units that reach the end of the interval between overhauls without failing are kept in operation, but are virtually in the queue.The number of active units is:M-Max[0, (i+j-L).lf/l-(R-L) ], where (i+j-L).lf/l is the average number of units that have failed since the maintenance crews are all busy (failed units in the queue). If the number of failed units in the queue is higher than the number of spare units available when all the crews are busy (R-L), then the number of unavailable units in workstation will be (i+j-L).lf/l-(R-L), otherwise it will be 0. Then, in state (i-1,j), the number of units that can fail is given by: M-Max[0, (i-1+j-L).lf/l-(R-L) ]-(i-1+j-L).lrev/l}, where (i-1+j-L).lrev/l is the average number of units waiting for an overhaul and whose failures imply a state change to state (i, j-1) and not to state (i,j). Equation 16 Equation 17 In this case, spare units are not enough to replace all the units that need repair or overhaul (see Figure 2). In these states, system evolution is unpredictable: system can evolve to a state where spare units are available or to a state where both spare units and maintenance crews are unavailable. Then, we consider that it is better to do the overhaul of a unit even if it cannot be replaced.Since neither failed units nor units that need an overhaul can be replaced, the number of unavailable units in workstation is (i+j-R). Equation 18 This case occurs after case 3 and when the number of units that need maintenance grows in such a way that it exceeds the number of maintenance crews (see Figure 2).A waiting queue is formed as soon as maintenance crews are all busy.The number of unavailable units in workstation is given by: Equation 19 Where (i+j-L) lf/l is the number of failed units in the queue and (L-R) represents the number of units that have been attended but not replaced before the maintenance crews become all unavailable (R<=L). Equation 20 In state (i-1,j), the number of units that may fail (except those waiting for an overhaul) is given by: Equation 21 In state (i - 1,j), the number of units that may need an overhaul (except those waiting for an overhaul) is given by: Equation 22 In the stady-state, P'i,j(t)=0 and [?]Pi,j=1, and state probabilities can be computed.Adjustment: determination of the fraction of units that fail when waiting for an overhaul (e)\nNumerical examples: Numerical examples based on hypothetical data are presented. It is our purpose to show some performance measures that can be directly obtained from state probabilities.Probability of waiting queue occurrence (Pwq) Equation 31 Average queue length (Lq): Equation 32 Probability of spare unit unavailability (Psu): Equation 33 Average number of units not replaced (Nnr): Equation 34 Average number of failed units not replaced (Nfnr):For L<R Equation 35 For R<=L Equation 36 Average number of unavailable units in workstation (NL)For L<R, the expression is the same as the expression for the average number of failed units.For R<=L Equation 37 In Table I we present various system performance measures for M=10, R=2, L=3, mrep=0.5, mrev=1.3, l=0.3 and different values of T.Iterations have been performed to adjust state probabilities. The process ends When De reaches a value not higher than 0.00005.As it can be seen in the table above, system performance measures are improved when increasing overhaul frequency. The time to perform an overhaul is usually lower, in average, than time to repair; thus, increasing overhaul frequency will imply queue length to decrease, due to the decrease in the demand for repairing. Since system performance is improved without changing the number of maintenance crews, it can be concluded that periodic overhauls improve the efficiency of maintenance crews.We have carried out additional numerical work in order to study the effect of R and L on Lq and NL.Increasing the number of spare units will force the number of unavailable units in the workstation to decrease, thus decreasing production loss. This is shown in Figure 6. It can also be noticed that, at the same time, the waiting queue grows. Since the number of available units in workstation becomes higher, the number of failures and the number of overhauls also increase.In Figure 7, it can be observed that as L (number of maintenance crews) increases, Lq decreases, as well as NL for L<=4. For L>=5, the change in the value of NL is not significant.\nConclusion: In this paper, the maintenance of a complex float system is addressed based on analytical methods. Differential equations, Markov process properties and queuing theory are used to settle down a model that determines the steady-state probabilities of the float system. We consider that each unit is submitted to periodic overhauls, reducing the original failure rate and minimizing the number of unexpected breakdowns, whose effects are frequently very severe. We also present numerical examples and define some performance indicators that can be quickly calculated based on steady-state probabilities. Those indicators enable the comparison of different policies and help, therefore, to choose the best one.It has been assumed that time to repair and time to failure follow Exponential distributions. If such a fact was not considered, it would be recommended to use simulation to obtain approximate solutions, once the system would be too much complex to be analytically modelled.The widespread criterion used to select the best maintenance policy is the maintenance cost. In future work, the purpose is to determine maintenance system costs based on state probabilities.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to determine the state probabilities for a float system when overhauls are performed periodically.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - First, a model is developed to express the relationship between the rate of occurrence of failure and time interval between overhauls. Then, a methodology is defined to develop differential equations for each system state in order to calculate corresponding system state probabilities.\nFindings: - Since it is considered that units requiring an overhaul stay in operation until replacement, the possibility of failure of those units has to be included. Then, the determination of system state probabilities has to be done iteratively.\nPractical implications: - The methodology proposed in this paper enables comparison of different designs for a float system submitted to periodic overhauls through some different performance measures. System state probabilities can also be used to determine the idle time of units, which is essential to obtain the cost of production loss and, therefore, the system maintenance cost.\nOriginality/value: - This paper considers simultaneously three different factors that influence maintenance float system performance: the number of spare units and the number of maintenance crews (which mean minimising the downtime effect) and the overhaul frequency (which means decreasing the number of failures).\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
I'll marry you if you get me a job: Marital assimilation and immigrant employment rates
|
[
"Mixed marriages",
"Employment",
"Immigration",
"Probability theory"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Does marital assimilation, as defined by marriage to a native, affect the employment probability of immigrants? In this paper, we aim to address this question paying particular attention to whether the relationship is in fact causal. Because employment aids in the assimilation process to the USA, increases earnings, decreases public transfers, and improves public attitudes toward immigrants (Chiswick et al., 1997; Hanson et al., 2005), understanding the processes determining immigrant employment can be seen as one of the key issues in the economics of immigration.From a theoretical perspective, marriage to a native may increase or decrease employment rates of immigrants. Native-born spouses can improve immigrants' language and job search skills thus making them more attractive to potential employers. Moreover, friends and family members of native-born spouses, who are most likely also native-born, may have useful information about job openings. In contrast, networks of immigrant spouses, comprised most likely of other immigrants, may provide more information about jobs that are better matches for immigrants. Furthermore, because it is unclear whether foreign or native networks know more about eligibility requirements for public assistance, marriage to a native has an ambiguous effect on employment probabilities.Most closely related to our work are papers examining the effect of intermarriage on earnings assimilation. Using Australian data, Meng and Gregory (2005) find that an immigrant's marriage to a native has a positive effect on earnings even after controlling for the endogeneity of the marriage decision. In contrast, using US data, Kantarevic (2005) finds that when taking into account selection issues, the positive effect of marriage to a native on earnings assimilation disappears. Ours is the first paper to examine the effect of marriage to a native on employment.Because marriage to a native and employment may be jointly determined by unobserved characteristics, intermarriage should be viewed as an endogenous variable. For example, the foreign born that are more assimilated, in ways not captured by observable measures of assimilation, may be both more likely to marry a native and be employed, thus biasing an ordinary least squares (OLS) coefficient on intermarriage upward. Alternatively, it may be that the most hardworking immigrants are more likely to marry immigrants implying that the intermarriage coefficient is biased downward. To deal with endogeneity concerns such as these, we adopt a two-stage estimation strategy using local marriage market conditions as an identifying instrument for intermarriage. More specifically, we use the percentage of women in the foreign born male's age group and metropolitan statistical area (MSA) that is foreign born as an instrument for his marriage to a native.Drawing on 2000 US Census data on foreign-born males, we find that even after controlling for a number of variables such as education, English language fluency, years in the USA, size of the immigrant group and country of birth, an immigrant's marriage to a native increases the probability that he is employed by about four percentage points. After instrumenting, the effect of marriage to a native not only remains positive and statistically significant, but increases in magnitude to approximately 11 percentage points. This suggests that the immigrants that marry natives have unobservable characteristics that tend to decrease employment probabilities.The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 details the mechanisms through which marriage to a native may affect employment probabilities and describes our empirical approach. Section 3 presents the data. We discuss the results in section 4. Section 5 concludes and suggests policy implications.\n2. Theoretical background and empirical approach: There are various ways through which marriage to native could affect an immigrant's probability of being employed. As suggested by Meng and Gregory (2005), the native-born spouses of immigrants could enhance immigrants' language acquisition as well as their knowledge of local customs and labor market conditions. Because the foreign born typically have less information about local labor markets, they may be forced to experiment with more jobs and this could result in more unemployment spells (Chiswick et al., 1997). If the native born and their networks have and share more information about the availability of different types of jobs, then their immigrant spouses may be better able to find good employment matches.There are also many reasons why marriage to a native may decrease employment rates of immigrants. First, even if the native born have more information about high skill jobs, these jobs may be out of reach to low skilled immigrants. For many of the immigrants at the margin between employment and unemployment, immigrant networks may in fact prove more useful than native networks in finding low skill jobs. Moreover, because migrant communities tend to be more socially cohesive (Munshi, 2003), marriage to an immigrant may bring with it more contacts than marriage to a native. Thus, marriage to another immigrant may increase the employment probabilities of immigrants. Also, if foreign-born spouses are less likely to work and conditional on working, have lower earnings, then they may not be able to finance their immigrant spouse's job search thereby shortening unemployment spells.Networks acquired through marriage can also be sources of information about the existence of government transfer programs as well as the conditions necessary to qualify for them. These government transfers have been shown to increase the duration of unemployment spells (Moffitt, 1985) and increase the probability that people exit the labor force (Moffitt, 2002). Depending on whether native or foreign-born networks have greater knowledge of government programs, marriage to a native may increase or decrease the probability of being employed[1].It is difficult to empirically decipher whether marriage to a native increases or decreases employment rates of immigrants. Estimates obtained from a simple least squares approach should be interpreted with caution because marriage to a native is not exogenous. Many of the skills that are valued in the US labor market are also valued in the marriage market for native-born spouses. Examples include language ability, knowledge of American customs, and even physical beauty as suggested by Kantarevic (2005). Also, if the more ambitious immigrants know that native networks are important for finding good jobs, they may surround themselves with natives and thus increase the probability of both finding a native spouse and a job. All of these possibilities suggest that an OLS estimate of the effect of marriage to a native on employment overestimates its true effect.In contrast, it may be that even though immigrants with observable characteristics such as education and English fluency are more likely to marry natives and be employed, it is the immigrants with unobservable characteristics such as ambition and diligence that are both more likely to marry other immigrants and be employed. Thus, the OLS estimate of the effect of marriage to a native on employment could be biased downward. It is also plausible that the most unsuccessful immigrant-immigrant couples return to their home countries (see, for example, Borjas and Bratsberg, 1996) while unemployed immigrants married to natives remain in the US Again, this would bias the OLS estimate downward.We take two main approaches to addressing these biases. First, to take into account the possibility that certain ethnic groups may, for unobservable reasons, be more (or less) likely to both marry a native and be employed, we include country of birth fixed effects in the empirical specification. Second, as is common in the literature (Meng and Gregory, 2005; Kantarevic, 2005; Angrist, 2002), we use marriage market conditions as an instrument for marriage decisions. Specifically, we instrument for an immigrant male's marriage to a native using the percentage of women in his age group living in his metropolitan statistical area that is foreign born.\n3. The data: The paper uses the 5 percent Public Use Sample of the 2000 US Census as reported by the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)[2]. Because of the difficulties in interpreting labor market outcomes of females, we consider a sample of married (spouse present) foreign-born males who are between the ages of 18 and 64. We drop immigrants who are enrolled in school. In order to restrict our analysis to immigrants that were actually exposed to the US marriage market, we exclude those immigrants that arrived in the US after the age of 18. We also drop from the sample immigrants from English speaking countries. Last, because our instrumental variable is based on cross-metropolitan variation, we keep only the immigrants that reside in identifiable metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).An immigrant is defined as a person who was born outside of the US while a native is a person who was born in one of the 50 US states. For the purposes of this study, people born in outlying areas of US such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are considered immigrants. Approximately 34 percent of the immigrant men in our sample are married to native females[3]. Our dependent variable takes the value of one if an immigrant is employed, either in paid- or in self-employment. Workers who are absent from their jobs due to a labor dispute are considered employed. The baseline set of controls used in the analysis are age and its square to capture the effect of experience, educational achievement, presence of children in the household, whether the person is a veteran, region dummies, residence in the central city or outside of the central city, and a dummy variable equal to one if the immigrant has a disability which prevents, limits, or causes difficulty in working.We also have specifications that control for measures of assimilation such as English language fluency and years since migration. The English fluency dummy variable is equal to one if the immigrant speaks only English, speaks English very well, or speaks English well. The variable equals zero if the immigrant either does not speak English well or does not speak English at all. In some specifications, we also control for the size of the immigrant group, which is measured as the percentage of people living in the immigrant's MSA born in the same country as the immigrant.Table I presents descriptive statistics of all of the variables used in the analysis separately by marriage type. Immigrant males married to natives have employment rates 11.5 percentage points higher than immigrants married to other immigrants. This could be explained by the fact that intermarried males are 2.8 years older, are more educated, and have higher English fluency rates. Immigrants married to natives have been in the US 7.8 years more than immigrants married to other immigrants. Immigrants that marry natives are also more likely to have been in the army, less likely to have children, and are more likely to live outside of central cities.\n4. Empirical specification and results: 4.1 Ordinary least squares model\n5. Conclusions: Drawing on US Census data, this paper shows that a foreign born male's marriage to a native increases the probability that he is employed. Various techniques were used to address the potential omitted variable bias resulting from immigrant characteristics, which affect both employment and marriage choice. First, measures of immigrant human capital and assimilation such as education, language ability and years in the US were included in the baseline specification. Since residing in an ethnic enclave could either hinder employment opportunities by slowing assimilation or increase the number of job offers through ethnic networks, size of immigrant group was also included in the specification. Also, to control for the possibility that unobserved ethnic attributes affect success in both the marriage and labor markets, country of birth fixed effects were added to the specification. Last, to correct for any remaining endogeneity bias, marriage to a native was instrumented with the percent of all immigrant females in MSA-age group cells that is foreign born. In all specifications, marriage to a native had a positive and significant effect on the probability of being employed.There are many possible explanations for this positive relationship between marriage to a native and employment probability. When immigrants marry a native, they marry a teacher of US customs and traditions. They also acquire a network most likely composed of many natives that are able to provide information about local labor market conditions and job opportunities. If the reason it is beneficial for immigrants to marry natives, lies in the information native-born spouses along with their networks share about US culture and local job market opportunities, then policies can be made to substitute for these types of services. For example, English classes and job search strategies may be offered to new immigrants. Although clear policy recommendations cannot be made without knowing the mechanisms through which marriage to a native affects labor market outcomes, our results do point to ways in which policies could potentially aid in the immigrant assimilation process. A more careful disentangling of the specific mechanisms through which marriage to a native improves labor market outcomes is beyond the scope of this paper, but is an area ripe for future research.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to test whether marriage to a native affects the probability that an immigrant will be employed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Utilizing 2000 US Census data, first the effect of cross-nativity marriages on employment is examined using an ordinary least squares model. To deal with endogeneity concerns, a two-stage least squares model instrument for marriage to a native using local marriage market conditions is then estimated.\nFindings: - Results from an ordinary least squares model controlling for the usual measures of human capital and immigrant assimilation suggest that marriage to a native increases an immigrant's employment probability by approximately four percentage points. When taking into account the endogeneity of the intermarriage decision, marriage to a native increases the probability of employment by about 11 percentage points.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Although various mechanisms are discussed through which marriage to a native can increase employment probabilities of immigrants, the authors do not disentangle these mechanisms. This is an area ripe for future research.\nOriginality/value: - It is shown that, from a theoretical perspective, marriage to a native has an ambiguous effect on immigrant employment rates. The empirical answer to this question provides insights into the assimilation process, which may prove useful in designing optimal immigration policies.\n",
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