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11 – 20 of over 9000Charles Jobs, Deena Burris and David Butler
This paper seeks to build on a previous article published in International Journal of Social Economics Vol. 33 No. 10 titled, “A case study in the globalization of jobs in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to build on a previous article published in International Journal of Social Economics Vol. 33 No. 10 titled, “A case study in the globalization of jobs in Ireland” by objectively assessing many socioeconomic implications of the call center industry in Ireland. The paper first builds a foundation of understanding on what comprises the call center sector and highlights the fact that it is a large, complex and stratified business. It investigates the socioeconomic impact of this industry on Ireland by analyzing how Irish call center jobs pay compared with other Irish industry sectors and the impact of immigration on salary levels. The paper also assesses the evolution of the business model of Irish call centers and Ireland's international recruiting patterns as they impact the Irish labor pool. Finally, it seeks to explore in depth the nature of call center sociopolitical activity and influence.
Design/methodology/approach
This general review is based on a field research project including survey data obtained by a team from the University of Southern Mississippi and supported by The Irish Development Agency (IDA). The survey collected data about the workers, management and demographic trends of the Irish call/contact center sector. This information is enhanced by review of literature and available secondary data.
Findings
This paper builds a foundational understanding for the reader of the true nature of the call center business within Ireland and in global terms. It offers a balanced assessment to the common perception that call centers are white‐collar sweatshops and articulates the true nature of this stratified and evolving business sector. The paper then explores the socioeconomic impact of the evolution of this key employment sector in Ireland.
Originality/value
It builds on the case study paper featured in Vol. 33 No. 10 of the International Journal of Social Economics by investigating in greater detail the social and economic impact of this research on Irish workers. The value is that the paper studies a significant Irish industry sector in terms of social effects brought on by change due to advances in technology and the globalization of jobs. This is important to economic development groups such as IDA Ireland and development agencies in other countries facing similar situations.
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A RECENT ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ television episode portrayed a Time and Motion consultant in a very unfavourable light. The script writers did not attempt to explain his work…
Abstract
A RECENT ‘Dixon of Dock Green’ television episode portrayed a Time and Motion consultant in a very unfavourable light. The script writers did not attempt to explain his work, being too intent on creating credible circumstances for an attempted murder. All they needed was to build up a situation which made the workers' hostility to his activities obvious. It is to be hoped that homicide is not now an added occupational risk of consultants or Work Study men!
Anita Zehrer and Gabriela Leiß
This paper aims to explore the pertinent issues, barriers and pitfalls of intergenerational communication in business families during their leadership succession period.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the pertinent issues, barriers and pitfalls of intergenerational communication in business families during their leadership succession period.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on relational leadership theory, the paper makes use of an action research approach using a qualitative single case study to investigate communication barriers and pitfalls in business transition.
Findings
Through action research, interventions were taken in the underlying case, which increased the consciousness, as well as the personal and social competencies of the business family. Thus, business families stuck in ambivalent entanglement understand their underlying motives and needs within the change process, get into closer contact with their emotional barriers and communication hindrances, which is a prerequisite for any change, and break the succession iceberg phenomenon.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should undertake multiple case studies to validate and/or modify the qualitative methods used in this action research to increase the validity and generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
Given the large number of business families in transition, our study shows the beneficial effects action research might have on business families’ communication behavior along a change process. The findings might help other business families to understand the value of action research for such underlying challenges and decrease communication barriers.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies to have addressed intergenerational communication of business families using an action research approach.
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There have been a number of advocates of the need for conducting regular job satisfaction surveys in Britain. In fact this type of information has been collected by the General…
Abstract
There have been a number of advocates of the need for conducting regular job satisfaction surveys in Britain. In fact this type of information has been collected by the General Household survey since 1971; a question on overall job satisfaction has been asked from that date, with supplementary questions on specific aspects or facets of job satisfaction being asked since 1974. However, this source of job satisfaction information has been a much under‐utilised research resource, with relatively little use being made of even the basic tabulations, much less has there been any detailed multi‐variate analysis of the responses obtained. One recent exception to this was a research paper prepared by the Department of Employment which sought, among other things, to explain why the General Household Survey responses have continually shown women reporting more satisfaction with their pay than men, despite their considerbale lower earnings levels.
Caroline Bastos Capaverde, Igor Baptista de Oliveira Medeiros, Cláudia Simone Antonello and Maria Beatriz Rodrigues
This study aims to analyze the processes of introducing apps (Easy Taxi and Uber) in the work routine of taxi and private drivers, exploring their work relations and identifying…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the processes of introducing apps (Easy Taxi and Uber) in the work routine of taxi and private drivers, exploring their work relations and identifying new forms of relationship between them and their passengers. The authors expose the complexity in which such processes occur in a dialogical way, aligning poststructuralist notions of actor–network theory with theorizations on subjectivity production.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 drivers of Easy Taxi and Uber apps in three Brazilian capitals.
Findings
Apps came to play a central role in the work practice of the drivers interviewed. The authors suggest that they offer more security, convenience, accessibility and agility, going beyond dependent forms of working and living, in overlapping networks and connections, enacting entities that guide workers and users to an increasingly programmed way of life.
Practical implications
New forms of thinking managerial relations with taxi and private drivers work and their work relations with other drivers and passengers.
Social implications
This kind of technology not only generates new social relations but also activates mechanisms of subjectivation that reverberate new forms of relating, working and living in contemporaneity.
Originality/value
Approaches on subjectivity regarding the adoption of technology in the practice of work in the contemporaneity, with the emergence of new working relations mediated by e-hailing technology.
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Julia Brandl, Wolfgang Mayrhofer and Astrid Reichel
The purpose of this paper is to analyze how differences in strategic integration between women and men in HR director positions vary in an international comparison and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze how differences in strategic integration between women and men in HR director positions vary in an international comparison and particularly how gender‐egalitarian cultural values influence the level of these differences.
Design/methodology/approach
Cross‐country comparison of HR managers involving 22 countries based on the 2004 Cranet survey.
Findings
Consistent with the hypothesis, findings show a negative relationship between gender‐egalitarian values and sex differences in strategic integration.
Practical implications
Enhanced understanding of impact of cultural egalitarianism on cross‐national differences in segregation of women in the HR profession.
Originality/value
Level of segregation of women in HR director positions varies with the prevalence of gender‐egalitarian cultural values.
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Beth Adele, Andrea D. Ellinger, Rochell R. McWhorter and Toby M. Egan
As a part of a larger study, the purpose of this study was to explore the learning outcomes for the “manager as coach” when exemplary managers are engaged in coaching their…
Abstract
Purpose
As a part of a larger study, the purpose of this study was to explore the learning outcomes for the “manager as coach” when exemplary managers are engaged in coaching their respective employees.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative, multi-case study using an adaptation of the critical incident technique (CIT) and semistructured interviews was employed with 12 managers and their respective direct reports totaling 24 interviews. Content and constant comparative analyses were used to analyze the data.
Findings
A total of five themes and 19 subthemes were identified regarding managers’ learning outcomes from managers’ perspectives. From the perspectives of their employees as coachees regarding their managers’ learning outcomes, one theme with three subthemes emerged.
Originality/value
Limited empirical research has explored the developmental outcomes for managers who serve as coaches for their employees. This study examined the outcomes associated with managerial coaching from both the perspectives of the managers who coach and their direct reports. The findings of this research provide more insight into the benefits managers derive from coaching their employees.
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Historical research suggests that English monarchs at the start of the early modern era (ca. 1500‐1800) followed a communication model this paper tentatively names…
Abstract
Historical research suggests that English monarchs at the start of the early modern era (ca. 1500‐1800) followed a communication model this paper tentatively names “instructional”, characterised by one‐way communication intended to instruct the public in a correct worldview and to coach proper behaviour. There is evidence that this instructional model segued into recognisably modern models as the English Crown lost power between the reigns of Elizabeth I and George III, suggesting a link between the sender’s power and the communication techniques the sender employed.
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John Nixon and Michael Carroll
Observes that line managers are the group most concerned with success attheir jobs. Looks at how being an effective line manager is of theutmost importance. Argues that managers…
Abstract
Observes that line managers are the group most concerned with success at their jobs. Looks at how being an effective line manager is of the utmost importance. Argues that managers cannot be counsellors but they need to build up counselling skills even though remaining a manager. Shows that line managers will not find counselling in the workplace comes easy for them.
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Noel Murray, Ajay K. Manrai and Lalita Ajay Manrai
This paper aims to present an analysis of the role of financial incentives, moral hazard and conflicts of interests leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present an analysis of the role of financial incentives, moral hazard and conflicts of interests leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The study’s analysis has identified common structural flaws throughout the securitization food chain. These structural flaws include inappropriate incentives, the absence of punishment, moral hazard and conflicts of interest. This research sees the full impact of these structural flaws when considering their co-occurrence throughout the financial system. The authors address systemic defects in the securitization food chain and examine the inter-relationships among homeowners, mortgage originators, investment banks and investors. The authors also address the role of exogenous factors, including the SEC, AIG, the credit rating agencies, Congress, business academia and the business media.
Findings
The study argues that the lack of criminal prosecutions of key financial executives has been a key factor in creating moral hazard. Eight years after the Great Recession ended in the USA, the financial services industry continues to suffer from a crisis of trust with society.
Practical implications
An overwhelming majority of Americans, 89 per cent, believe that the federal government does a poor job of regulating the financial services industry (Puzzanghera, 2014). A study argues that the current corporate lobbying framework undermines societal expectations of political equality and consent (Alzola, 2013). The authors believe the Singapore model may be a useful starting point to restructure regulatory agencies so that they are more responsive to societal concerns and less responsive to special interests. Finally, the widespread perception is that the financial services sector, in particular, is ethically challenged (Ferguson, 2012); perhaps there would be some benefit from the implementation of ethical climate monitoring in firms that have been subject to deferred prosecution agreements for serious ethical violations (Arnaud, 2010).
Originality/value
The authors believe the paper makes a truly original contribution. They provide new insights via their analysis of the role of financial incentives, moral hazard and conflicts of interests leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.
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