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Considers the impact on a firm’s performance if weaknesses are not addressed. Uses SWOT analysis to show how a firm often concentrate on developing its strengths and opportunities, avoiding the weaknesses. Reports the findings of a survey covering 156 US Chief Executives suggesting that if firms minimised their weaknesses it makes it harder for others to differentiate themselves to gain competitive advantage. Concludes that whilst it is difficult to compare performance, any avoidance of tackling a weakness provides a vulnerable attack point for competitors, and therefore a narrow view concentrating on strength could therefore influence overall performance.

Higher education institutions are the places from where the societies base the information, deliver and apply it. Moreover, it is the place where the people who are required to bring innovations with required abilities, skills and attitudes are trained. Forming a network between the small and middle sized companies (SMSC) and higher education institutions in Turkey might present some opportunities which are not easily available for economy, society and higher education. However, to implement such a social structure the government and some of the institutions need to have some changes in their attitudes. This study has aimed to develop some solutions for the problems and incompetency of higher education and the SMSC in Turkey. The project named “Acquiring Enterprising Skills Project” can be started in one region at first, and then it can be applied throughout the country by having coordination between the institutions. That kind of coordination might be a solution for the students in higher education to have some experience related to the sector in their major, and it might be a solution for the SMSC for the problems related to creativity, research and development planning, management, manufacturing, marketing, efficiency, effectiveness, and experts.

Although several studies have been conducted on the causes of cost overrun, they have mainly assumed that the causes of cost overrun are independent of each other, and few of them scrutinized the complex interrelationships between the causes. To fill the gap, this study aims to investigate the mutual interactions between the causes of cost overrun using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and proposing strategies to tackle the causes considering their interactions.

Critical causes of cost overrun were identified through a comprehensive literature review. In total, 22 key causes are then refined based on the opinions of relevant experts involved in the Iranian building and construction sector. Using the nominal group technique, the causes' interactions were examined and represented via the ISM diagram. The causes were also classified using “matrix cross-reference multiplication applied to a classification (MICMAC)” technique.

The results showed that price fluctuation, claims, execution delay, delay in payment and change order positioned at the highest level of the obtained model can directly result in cost overrun, and corruption and poor contract management located at the base of the model are two major root causes of cost overruns. It was also concluded that more attention should be paid to the precontract phase of the project to address and prevent corruption and managerial issues deeply rooted in this stage.

The findings of this study provide a clear understanding of how different causes of cost overrun are related to each other and can ultimately assist project managers of different parties in choosing strategies to mitigate cost overrun in building construction projects.

The study explores the perspectives of college students on the pedagogical shift as well as frequent transitions between online and offline learning modes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala, the most literate state in India.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,366 college students in Kerala during December 2021. A pre-tested questionnaire was sent using Google Forms to students of arts and science colleges. The authors analyzed quantitative data using descriptive statistics and qualitative data using thematic content analysis.

The reported advantages of online learning were increased technical skill, flexibility in study time, effectiveness in bridging the gap of the missed academic period and provision of attending more educational webinars. Students expressed concerns of increased workload, difficulty in concentration due to family circumstances, academic incompetency, uncleared doubts and addiction to mobile phones and social media during the online classes. The main advantages reported for switching to an offline learning mode were enhanced social interaction, effective learning, better concentration and reduced stress. The reported challenges of offline classes were fear of getting the disease, concern of maintaining social distancing and difficulty in wearing masks during the classes. The shift in offline to online learning and vice versa was perceived as a difficult process for the students as it took a considerable time for them to adjust to the switching process of learning.

Students' concerns regarding transition between different learning modes provide important information to educators to better understand and support the needs of students during the pandemic situations.

The purpose of the paper is to explore the meanings and effects of social undermining as described by the faculty members of public and private universities of Pakistan.

The study utilizes the qualitative approach using in-depth interviews of the faculty members to explore different meanings assigned to social undermining and the impact of these experiences on them.

The faculty members describe social undermining in terms of defamation and limiting of space for them at workplace. The impact of social undermining is directly felt on the emotional and overall well-being. It also affects the work performance of the faculty leading to behaviors like withdrawal and abstaining from voluntary activities.

The research is conducted in only two universities in the capital city. The experiences and views of faculty members in other universities particularly in small cities might be different.

The study may be of help in terms of finding out the impacts of social undermining on faculty members in order to avoid such situations, hence, improving the motivation level of faculty. This will help managers to understand the phenomenon and find out appropriate strategies for a more harmonious and trustable work environment between people.

The study contributes to the literature by utilizing the qualitative approach that is not used much in this subject area. It is also one of the very first attempts of exploring the phenomenon in Pakistan, as per the best of authors’ knowledge.

In a recent interview in the Harvard Business Review. Peter Drucker argues that the best criteria for evaluating employees in Post‐Capitalism is competency. Self‐knowledge, empathy, and the ability to absorb information are the major qualities of a competent person. Competent people are scarce commodities. Firms wanting to achieve a competitive place in the marketplace, must attract competent employees and nurture tendencies toward self‐knowledge. In a post‐capitalist era, this is no longer a luxury; rather, it is the only way to ensure survival.

Karen people from Burma are a new population in resettlement countries. While research increasingly documents their health needs, few studies describe how health-care providers adapt their practices to serve this group. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of providers who work with Karen patients/clients in health settings, documenting the challenges they face, how they adapt their practice and recommendations.

This study used a qualitative survey and one phone interview with a total of 20 providers who had first-hand experience caring for Karen people in health settings. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Two main categories described challenges providers faced in working with Karen people in health settings: system-level challenges and interpersonal communication challenges. Five main categories described specific strategies and support needed to adapt practice for Karen patients in health settings: strategies for improving communication and mutual understanding; partnering with Karen staff, interpreters and cultural brokers; strategies for building trust and rapport; addressing needs related to case management, care coordination and social determinants of health; recommendations for provider training.

This paper contributes suggestions for adapting practice to meet the health needs of Karen people from the perspective of health-care providers in a location that is nationally recognized for its excellence in refugee health.

The leaders’ perception about self and the opinion of the subordinates about them is crucial to understand why some leaders qualify for hate. Much has been discussed on the positive and ethical side of leadership. However, the research on the darker side of leadership needs more attention. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the factors along with their impact responsible for hate-for-leaders, a relatively scant area of leadership. This study may facilitate understanding why some leaders become subject to hate despite many efforts by the organization.

For exploring the different factors responsible for hate-for-leaders, a survey was conducted by developing a scale using the focus group, Delphi technique, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The results were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The factors responsible for qualifying the leaders for hate were identified. Moreover, the results indicated that the subordinate hate the leaders for his/her unacceptable behaviour/actions which they assume the leader has control over it and exhibited otherwise intentionally on targeted employees. Moreover, some undesirable behaviour of leaders is attributed to fundamental attribution errors i.e. situational factors.

A fully developed scale for assessing the hate-quotient for leaders is proposed. This research will facilitate the managers/leaders as to why some of the followers/employees hate them. This scale provides an opportunity for managers and leaders to introspect themselves for improved workplace relationships and not to encourage sunflower management that seeks to get submissive and aligned-thought employees around the leader.

The fact that the decisions taken by managers/leaders adversely affecting the employees are not always because of malice or wrong intentions but sometimes due to situational factors i.e. fundamental attribution error. Moreover, the scale act as a reference to evaluate the hate-for-leaders in the organizational context.

While studies have established the important role of change agents throughout organizational change programs and emphasized the change agents’ impact on outcomes of change efforts, it could be argued that the decision-making procedure for the selection of change agents may also influence the success of organizational change programs in several ways. This research aims to explore and compare the potential influence of a traditional change agent selection procedure with a more systematic and objective approach.

A qualitative case study has been conducted, before and after testing a group decision support system for the selection of change agents in an organization that was on the verge of a major rebranding.

The main findings suggest the importance of objectivity, transparency and attention to competency in the selection procedure for the role, while providing evidence for using a systematic participative decision-support process for the selection of change agents, leading to several desirable organizational outcomes, including improvements in perception of objectivity, trust, transparency, fairness and competency related to the selection process.

Drawing from the previous studies and the presented findings, this study offers evidence on the importance of paying attention to the selection procedure for the change agent role as it could potentially have an influence on the employees across organizations and, consequently, the success of change programs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore police officers’ perceptions of the challenges and work stressors of working in Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) investigation.

Participants were a heterogeneous sample of 32 ICE investigators across nine Australian jurisdictions. Officers’ perceptions of ICE work were elicited via individual, open-ended, anonymous, telephone interviews, which focused on both the nature and impact of work-related stressors and challenges.

Thematic analysis revealed that viewing ICE material was not perceived to be a major stressor or particularly traumatic facet of ICE investigation. Rather, the challenges related to three areas; work relationships, workload and resources and the physical environment. Participants also suggested some improvements to their work environment which could reduce the impact of these challenges.

The stressors identified by ICE investigators in this study place physical, psychological and social restrictions on investigative capacity. Modifications to the workplace environment that facilitate more effective professional collaboration, reduce workload and enhance investigator efficiency and functionality of the physical work environment would likely reduce the potential for harm associated with ICE investigation and improve ICE investigators’ capacity to perform their role.

This is the first study to use a broad research framework to examine the full range of stressors that ICE investigators face (both organisational and operational). The findings are important for developing comprehensive theories regarding workplace traumatisation as well as holistic intervention models to assist the prevention and management of stress related to ICE investigation.