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1 – 10 of 31Akhtar Bibi, Muhammad Adnan Khalid and Amina Hussain
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS), organizational commitment and job satisfaction among special education…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS), organizational commitment and job satisfaction among special education teachers in Pakistan. The data were collected from 85 special education teachers from different special education centers in Punjab, Pakistan. POS was measured using a survey of POS developed by Eisenberger et al. (1986). Affective continuance and normative commitment are measured by affective continuance and normative commitment scales developed by Meyer and Allen’s (1984) and Allen and Meyer (1990), respectively. Results of the current study show that POS and job satisfaction are positively correlated with affective and normative commitment. POS and job satisfaction are not associated with continuance organizational commitment. This suggests that a teacher’s commitment can be improved by increasing organizational support, underprivileged working environment and job satisfaction. Limitations and implication of the study are discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
In the current study, cross-sectional research design and non-probability purposive sampling technique were used. A sample of 85 special education teachers was collected from different special education institutes of Punjab and federal, Pakistan. Inclusion criteria were teacher with specialization in all disabilities (mentally challenged, deaf, blind, physical handicapped and slow learners), informed consent and age range 20‒55 years, at least 6-month teaching experience in special education. Exclusion criteria were teaching experience less than 6 months and age less than 20 or more than 55 years. The demographic characteristics of teachers are presented in Table II.
Findings
Findings of the present study suggest a positive association between POS, affective commitment, normative commitment and job satisfaction, whereas there is no association between POS and continuance commitment as well as between job satisfaction and continuance commitment among special education teachers in Pakistan. Organization should consider the exclusive support of the special education teachers.
Research limitations/implications
The current study also has some limitation. The sample size is very small. In the current study, data are collected from 85 special education teachers from federal and few cities of Punjab, Pakistan. Hence, data are not true representative. Data for current study are collected through self-reported scales and only collected from academic staff.
Practical implications
In the current study, special education teachers have identified factors that promote organizational support, commitment and job satisfaction, such as reasonable workloads, sound working environment, unbiased and fair working conditions, and administrative support. It has been found that decreased level of POS, commitment and job satisfaction damage the organization, special educators and special students. Therefore, special education department should develop and implement policies that strengthen these dimensions. A broad recommendation can be made on the basis of these findings: affective and normative commitment increases when individuals have satisfying experience with organization. Thus, this may be improved by providing special educators with the opportunity to work in a better work environment, with proper work load, as it would increase emotional and normative attachment of the individuals with their institutes. The current study would be helpful for policy makers in the field of education and administration in order to work on these dimensions to increase the teacher’s job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It would also create awareness among the general public about the potential problems of special education teachers in Pakistan affecting the quality of life of children with special needs. Results suggest that by providing organizational support, appropriate work load and unbiased attitude, a teacher’s commitment can be improved.
Social implications
The current research helps academics and administration to improve social functioning of special education teachers by improving their job satisfaction and organizational support.
Originality/value
The prevalence rate of children with disabilities is increasing rapidly in Pakistan. Since stigma is associated with individuals with disabilities, parents hide disabilities of their children so that other relatives may not face any problems, such as being doubted of carrying defective genes. Families have to cope with financial crises due to lack of institutional support, extra expense to deal with disabled person and loss of work. In such circumstances, special education institutions are only hopes for such people to assist them in dealing with their disabled children. However, the strength of teachers in these institutions is not enough to fulfill needs of such children. A number of researches have examined the role of organizational support, job satisfaction and organizational commitment of teachers in western countries (Makanjee et al., 2006; Alijanpou et al., 2013; Batool and Ullah, 2013). However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has yet investigated this serious issue in Pakistan. This study provides valuable information on organizational support, commitment and job satisfaction among special educators, and recommendation on how organizational commitment can be improved.
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Faiza Syed, Malik Shah Zaman Latif, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sadia Bibi, Saif Ullah and Nauman Khalid
The purpose of this paper is to access the present situation of the Pakistani population that suffers from vitamin D deficiency.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to access the present situation of the Pakistani population that suffers from vitamin D deficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
A review-based study was conducted based on publications from Pakistan between the years 2008 and 2018. The publications were archived from Pub Med and Google Scholar databases. A total of 18 publications were shortlisted, based on the cutoff values of vitamin D sufficiency, insufficiency and deficiency.
Findings
As per the data, 38.5 per cent of the participants were males, 48.7 per cent were females and 12.8 per cent of the studies have not mentioned the genders of the participants. The cumulative results show that 58.17 per cent (95 per cent CI: 52.17, 64.16) of the population is vitamin D-deficient and 26.65 per cent (95 per cent CI: 21.63, 31.66) is insufficient in vitamin D. The highest level of vitamin D deficiency was reported from Sindh (62.15 per cent), followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (60.57 per cent), Punjab (51.75 per cent) and the Federal Capital (49.25 per cent). Moreover, Cochran’s Q test indicated considerable heterogeneity (p = >0.001) with regard to Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) prevalence found among samples from the selected studies.
Originality/value
The present analysis suggests that more than half of the Pakistani population suffers from VDD, which, thus, should be considered as an epidemic and treated likewise.
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Aneesa Azhar, Jaffar Abbas, Zhang Wenhong, Tanvir Akhtar and Muhammad Aqeel
The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of marital status between infidelity and development of stress, anxiety and depression. Additionally, to investigate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of marital status between infidelity and development of stress, anxiety and depression. Additionally, to investigate the relationship among infidelity, stress, anxiety and depression among married couples and divorced individual.
Design/methodology/approach
A purposive sampling technique was used based on cross-sectional design. In total, 200 participants (married couples, n=100; divorced individuals, n=100) were incorporated from different NGO’s and welfare organizations of Rawalpindi, and Islamabad, Pakistan. Age ranged from 20 to 60 years. Two scales were used to measure the infidelity, stress, anxiety and depression in married couples and divorced couples.
Findings
The result revealed that emotional infidelity was positively significant correlated with stress (r=0.39, p=0.001), anxiety (r=0.40, p=0.001) and depression (r=0.35, p=0.001) for married couples. The result also displayed that sexual infidelity was positively significant correlated with stress (r=0.39, p=0.001), anxiety (r=0.39, p=0.001) and depression (r=0.34, p=0.001) for married couples. The result further elaborated that emotional infidelity and sexual infidelities were positively non-significant correlated with stress, anxiety and depression for divorced individuals. The analysis results revealed that marital status was moderator between infidelity and development of stress, anxiety and depression.
Research limitations/implications
This paper consisted of sample from three basic cities of Pakistan; thus, this paper finding may not be applied on whole population. Consequently, explanatory, exploratory and descriptive studies would be useful to enlighten the infidelity’s mechanism in prolongation of psychological distress across married couples and divorced individual in detail. Local tools to measure gender-related issues would be helpful in prospect while it combine cultural aspects as well.
Social implications
This study would be helpful in clinical settings to raise the awareness to effectively deal with their children.
Originality/value
The study recommended that those divorced individuals who had experienced either sexual infidelity or emotional infidelity were more likely to develop psychological problems as compared to married couples. This study would be helpful in clinical settings to raise the awareness to effectively deal with their children.
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This study aims to examine the direct influence of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention and the mediating roles of employee cynicism and job embeddedness.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the direct influence of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention and the mediating roles of employee cynicism and job embeddedness.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys were conducted to collect data in 3 waves, and 211 samples were finally obtained. The hypothesised relationships were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analyses and ProClin bootstrapping.
Findings
The results suggested that supervisor ostracism was positively related to employee turnover intention and that employee cynicism and job embeddedness played mediating roles. The analysis further confirmed that employee cynicism and job embeddedness played serial, double-mediating roles between supervisor ostracism and employee turnover intention.
Practical implications
This study helps understand the influence of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention, mitigating undesirable consequences that lead to employee turnover intention.
Originality/value
This study refines the knowledge on workplace ostracism, explores the impact of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention from different perspectives and reveals the relationship between them. It integrated cultural factors in a Chinese context, providing a further reference for local management practices.
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Md Asadul Islam, Dieu Hack-Polay, Mahfuzur Rahman, Mosharrof Hosen, Abigail Hunt and Sujana Shafique
This study examines the relationship between HR practices and millennial employee retention in the tourism industry in Bangladesh. It investigates the moderating role of the work…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the relationship between HR practices and millennial employee retention in the tourism industry in Bangladesh. It investigates the moderating role of the work environment in the relationship between HR practices and employee retention in the industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers used non-probability judgemental sampling to collect 384 questionnaires through a survey of millennial employees. Partial least square-based structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data.
Findings
The results reveal that HR practices included in this paper have significant relationships with millennial employee retention in the tourism industry in Bangladesh, except employee participation in decision-making. In addition, the results show that the work environment only moderates the relationship between two HR practices (compensation, training and development) and millennial employee retention.
Practical implications
The results suggest that managers in tourism organisations must develop HR practices and foster a positive work environment to retain millennials.
Originality/value
This is the only study that examines the moderating role of the work environment on the relationship between five selected HR practices (training and development, job security, performance appraisal, employee participation, compensation) and millennial employee retention. Previous studies used fewer HR variables.
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Quba Ahmed, Muhammad Saleem Sumbal, Muhammad Naseer Akhtar and Hussain Tariq
Drawing upon the theoretical underpinning of knowledge worker productivity, this study aims to examine the relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge management (KM…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon the theoretical underpinning of knowledge worker productivity, this study aims to examine the relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge management (KM) process (creation, application and sharing of knowledge) and its impact on the knowledge worker productivity in knowledge-intensive organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypothesis were tested through PROCESS Macro in IBM SPSS v.26 on a sample of 204 employees working in banking sector of Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test the model fitness through AMOS v. 26.
Findings
The results showed that the relationship between abusive supervision and KM process (creation, application and sharing of knowledge) is negative and highly significant, i.e. greater the abusive supervision in the banking sector, the lower is the engagement in KM processes. Furthermore, there is a positive and highly significant relationship between the KM process and knowledge worker productivity. Finally, the study indicates the negative impact of abusive supervision on the knowledge worker productivity through the mediating mechanism of knowledge management processes.
Research limitations/implications
A key limitation is that the study is cross-sectional, and the findings may only be generalizable to developing countries context.
Originality/value
Previous studies have focused on supervisor–employee relationship but not in the context of knowledge worker productivity. This article fulfills this gap through understanding the impact of abusive supervision on the knowledge worker productivity in relation to KM processes (knowledge creation, sharing and application) by drawing upon the theoretical underpinning of knowledge worker productivity.
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Edwina Pio, Rob Kilpatrick and Mark Le Fevre
The purpose of this paper is to illuminate enablers, barriers and vignettes of South Asian women leaders and possible paths to increase the influence and leadership of women in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illuminate enablers, barriers and vignettes of South Asian women leaders and possible paths to increase the influence and leadership of women in South Asia.
Design/methodology/approach
Navratna, the nine precious gems of ancient Indian literature are used to frame reflections on South Asian women leaders, and the Global Gender Gap Report of 2015 is used to give context to five barriers and five enablers to women’s leadership in the region. Illustrative vignettes of South Asian women in leadership roles are presented. These vignettes have been selected based on a case study approach of South Asian women leaders.
Findings
Five enablers that may help empower women towards greater leadership and influence are proposed: involving men in what should change, greater economic participation by women, supportive family, country- and context-specific leadership training, and finally grassroots advocacy, mentoring and role models.
Originality/value
The paper shines new light on women leaders whose sparking excellence in their specific field illuminate paths for others to follow and thus contributes to promoting research on multifaceted women leaders in South-Asia.
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Muhammad Shujahat, Minhong Wang, Murad Ali, Anum Bibi, Shahid Razzaq and Susanne Durst
The high turnover rate of knowledge workers presents a challenge to both organizational and personal knowledge management. Although personal knowledge management plays an…
Abstract
Purpose
The high turnover rate of knowledge workers presents a challenge to both organizational and personal knowledge management. Although personal knowledge management plays an important role in organizational knowledge management, empirical research on the practices for its application is underdeveloped. This study aims to examine the role of idiosyncratic job-design practices (i.e. job definition, job autonomy, innovation as a job requirement and lifelong learning orientation) in cultivating personal knowledge management among knowledge workers in organizations, to increase their productivity and safeguard the organization against knowledge loss arising from knowledge workers’ interfirm mobility.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 221 knowledge workers pursuing various knowledge-intensive jobs through a questionnaire survey and were analysed using partial least squares modelling.
Findings
The results demonstrated that three job-design practices (job definition, innovation as a job requirement and lifelong learning orientation) have a positive impact on personal knowledge management among knowledge workers and thus improve their productivity. However, job autonomy can affect personal knowledge management negatively.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are confined to a specific context and should be replicated across different contexts for better generalizability in future research.
Practical implications
Organizational managers should pay attention to (re)designing knowledge-intensive jobs to cultivate personal knowledge management by clearly outlining job responsibilities, offering opportunities to add relevant job activities and drop irrelevant ones, and making innovation and lifelong learning a formal job requirement. In addition, job autonomy should be judiciously provided along with sufficient social and network support to avoid lost opportunities in knowledge creation and sharing, and should be linked to job responsibilities and performance appraisals to avoid negative effects.
Originality/value
The high turnover rate of knowledge workers presents a challenge to both organizational and personal knowledge management. This study contributes to the literature by addressing the research gap in two aspects. Firstly, based on Drucker’s theory, this study identifies four idiosyncratic job-design practices (job definition, job autonomy, innovation as a job requirement and lifelong learning orientation) that reflect the distinctive characteristics of knowledge-intensive work. Secondly, this study examines whether and how these practices can cultivate personal knowledge management among knowledge workers, which can support their productivity.
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Philip Thomas, Patience Seebohm, Paul Henderson, Carol Munn‐Giddings and Salma Yasmeen
This paper describes some findings from an evaluation of the effectiveness of a community development project that aimed to overcome inequalities in mental health care experienced…
Abstract
This paper describes some findings from an evaluation of the effectiveness of a community development project that aimed to overcome inequalities in mental health care experienced by members of the local black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. A participatory action research design was used, involving people from BME communities who had experienced mental health problems and external stakeholders. The study relied largely on qualitative methodology. Findings reported here indicate that participants in the project valued the culturally and spiritually relevant support they received, but felt that more opportunities were needed for training and employment, greater representation on the project's management committee, and greater awareness of the project in the community. External stakeholders felt that the project gained credibility from its community base and valued its ability to work across faith traditions and cultures. It was also seen as successful in acting as a bridge between the communities and statutory services, although there were concerns about the project's relationship with frontline services. The paper proposes two models of community development that primary care trusts may wish to adopt ‐ radical or consensus, or a mixture of both ‐ in order to address inequalities in mental health service provision.
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Attia Aman-Ullah, Azelin Aziz, Hadziroh Ibrahim, Waqas Mehmood and Yasir Abdullah Abbas
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of job security on doctors’ retention, with job satisfaction and job embeddedness as the mediators. In doing so, the authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of job security on doctors’ retention, with job satisfaction and job embeddedness as the mediators. In doing so, the authors seek to contribute to the existing literature by providing additional empirical evidence on the links between job security, job satisfaction, job embeddedness and employee retention by using social exchange theory.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study was conducted on doctors working in public hospitals in Pakistan. Data from selected public hospitals were collected using semi-structured questionnaires. The simple random sampling method was applied for participant selection and partial least squares-structural equation modelling was used for data analysis purposes.
Findings
The findings confirmed the direct and mediation relationships. Thus, all of this study’s hypotheses are supported. The results indicate that job security can improve doctors’ retention. Further, job satisfaction and job embeddedness play crucial roles in mediating the direct relationship.
Originality/value
This study elaborates job security in health-care sector of Pakistan and also provides empirical evidence of the antecedents and mediators of doctors’ intention to continue working in the health-care industry.
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