Search results

Employee retention has become a greater challenge for organizations as today’s employees are more likely to voluntarily change organizations than previous generations. Therefore, this paper aims to examine organizational experiences and how new employees are integrated into their work environments – a process known as onboarding. Specifically, this research explores the relationship between the onboarding processes that new employees experience and their levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job embeddedness.

The authors administered a Web-based survey and tested three hypotheses. The survey was distributed to 170 new employees, with 54 participants responding. The onboarding construct consisted of self-developed questions based on Bauer’s Four Cs (compliance, clarification, culture and connection) model. The constructs for job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job embeddedness were obtained from the literature.

The authors found that a new employee’s onboarding experience plays a significant role in shaping three variables negatively correlated with turnover: job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job embeddedness. More specifically, job satisfaction appears to be more correlated with the concrete, well-defined aspects of the onboarding experience. Furthermore, the highest level of Bauer’s onboarding model, connection, showed significant correlation with nearly all components of organizational commitment and job embeddedness.

Organizational leaders may use these findings to develop a better understanding of the retention implications of the first few months of a new employee’s time in the organization and then implement strategies that boost onboarding effectiveness to help mitigate losses due to voluntary turnover.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of the cost performance index (CPI) for environmental remediation projects as the topic is not addressed in the literature. CPI is defined as the earned value of work performed divided by the actual cost of the work, and CPI stability represents the point in time in a project after which the CPI varies by less than 20 percent (measured in different ways).

After collecting monthly earned value management (EVM) data for 136 environmental remediation projects from a United States federal agency in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, the authors used the nonparametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test to analyze CPI stability. The authors also used nonparametric statistical comparisons to identify any significant relationships between CPI stability and independent variables representing project and contract characteristics.

The CPI for environmental projects did not stabilize until the projects were 41 percent complete with respect to project duration. The most significant factors contributing to CPI stability were categorized into the following managerial insights: contractor qualifications, communication, stakeholder engagement, contracting strategy, competition, EVM factors, and macro project factors.

As CPI stability for environmental remediation projects has not been reported in the literature, this research provides new insights to help project managers understand when the CPIs of environmental remediation projects stabilize and which factors have the most impact on CPI stability.

The threat environment countries face is a dynamic one, with many emerging technologies. This paper presents unique challenges as countries evaluate which technologies to pursue in support of national security. Rather than addressing a broad range of strategic options, this paper limits its scope to a single type of aircraft. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a methodology to counter the most likely future threats to a long‐range strike aircraft.

To address future threats, the paper examined the most likely course of technology development within the context of various alternative futures. To decompose general threat scenarios into specific risk scenarios, the risk filtering, ranking, and management (RFRM) framework was used. After identifying the most significant risk scenarios, decision tree analysis provided insight into whether or not to pursue a given technology (e.g. electromagnetic pulse hardening, redundant control structures, etc.).

It is found the RFRM and decision tree tools to be very complementary in developing a credible scenario‐based decision model that incorporates expected technology development and alternative futures.

The paper is not intended to be a technical report on advanced technologies or predict future technologies and the world geopolitical situation. However, the approach explored should serve as a foundation for more detailed analysis that incorporates formal studies, technology demonstrations, and additional research into a coherent decision structure that can be evaluated and adjusted over time.

The paper combines the RFRM and decision tree tools to examine concepts from both technology development and alternative futures.

A sample of 339 employees embroiled in a major organizational change completed a survey that was designed to explore how specific change messages (e.g. appropriateness, valence, and management support) and change facilitation strategies (participation and training) relate to the perceptions of the change benefits and quality of information conveyed. Results indicated that appropriateness and extrinsic valence were strong predictors of perceptions of change benefits while supervisor support and extrinsic valence most influenced perceptions of information quality. Results further indicated that participation and training were related to perceptions of information quality. However, contrary to our expectations, participation was inversely related to the benefits of the change. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for practitioners and researchers.

Government‐owned utility systems at many locations are old, obsolete, and unreliable. Replacement of these systems has become more technically and operationally complex, thereby making them more difficult for personnel to operate and maintain. In response, some governmental agencies are conveying ownership of these systems to the private sector through utility privatization as a way to efficiently operate and upgrade them. For utility privatization to be successful though, independent audits are necessary to ensure desired quantitative and qualitative factors are balanced. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.

The paper explains how the value‐focused thinking (VFT) methodology was used to develop a multi‐objective decision analysis (MODA) model to determine the effectiveness of utility privatization efforts.

The VFT MODA model was determined to be a suitable tool to evaluate a complex decision problem such as utility system evaluation. The model captured 28 values and 47 measures relating to utility privatization program's objective of improving the overall quality, reliability, and responsiveness of utility systems.

The VFT MODA model lacks real‐world data for evaluation, senior leader stakeholder input and a value and measure to evaluate energy efficiency.

The paper provides organizations faced with utility privatization decisions with an effective decision‐analysis tool.

The paper explores the first documented use of VFT to assist organizations and governments in providing insight into the performance of its privatized utility systems.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

WE do not apologize for devoting space this month to the Scottish Government Report on Libraries. It is, as our writers affirm, an important document and many themes for debate may emerge from it. If a reading circle of young librarians were formed in any district it could consider this document page by page with much profit. It is, for an official document, interesting in style. It starts many old ideas, it has the verve and certainty which we look for in the amateur rather than the professional writer. To some of its statements, for example its assertion that “libraries have reached or are approaching a temporary limit to their usefulness, because the schools have not yet given adequate training in the use and power of books,” librarians may well ask “why?” in relation to the second part of this statement; and they certainly refuse to admit or believe the first part of it. In fact, the use of libraries in such universal manner is largely the result of the work of modern libraries for children. The librarian teaches children what to read. We have not reached any such limit as is affirmed ; we are indeed only on the margin of our possibilities.

THE announcement that Mr. James Wilkie, M.A., will be President of the Library Association for 1951 is gratifying, He has been for some years the honoured Secretary of the Carnegie Trust and before that was the officer at the Ministry of Education most nearly concerned with the public library. For many years now he has been a familiar figure at library conferences, and his geniality, Strong sense of humour and excellent speaking, have won him the esteem of librarians and others concerned with libraries. He almost invariably attends the meetings of the National Central Library. It is, therefore, appropriate that he should preside over the Library Association, which owes so much to him and the Trust he serves and in many activities represents. We wish him a pleasant year of office and can surely promise him the loyalty of librarians.

CANADA, until the last generation or two, has been basically a pioneer country but two world wars have changed all this and the economy has moved from an agricultural to a manufacturing community able to provide a standard of living second to that of the United States. (At the present time only 10.8 per cent of Canadians live on farms according to the 1961 census.) Natural resources, such as timber, wheat and mining, continue to play, however, an important role in the life of the nation. As in most developing and pioneer countries, learning has had to assume a secondary role compared with other enterprises and activities. This is gradually beginning to change as more people continue in school and the percentage of individuals attending university increases. Established organizations, like the National Film Board and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, catering to mass culture, have been strengthened and enlarged and new establishments, like the Canada Council and the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, of narrower function and appeal, have been set up. The Library movement, not the least of learning agencies, is gaining strength every day. In this paper some of the interesting new developments of the last ten years in the latter field will be discussed. Of necessity, much is abbreviated; a lot is ignored. Data selected has been based on the most recent sources; hence the variety in dates.

Even in these days of long development periods of conventional metal structures and of huge production orders for orthodox aeroplanes the interest in the Flying Wing type and in tailless designs is by no means asleep.