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The body of literature in the field now commonly known as the “quality of working life” (QWL) has grown steadily over a period in which the industrialised nations have increasingly come to question the role and status of human beings in the modern technological environment. In recent years concern with the nature of work, its impact upon people, and their attitudes towards it, seem to have sharpened. Investigation of, and experimentation with, the qualitative aspects of working life—its ability to confer self‐fulfilment directly, for example, as opposed to being a means of acquiring goods—has gained momentum under the influence of a unique set of economic, social, political and technological factors. The outpouring of books, reports and articles from a wide variety of sources has, not surprisingly, grown apace.

To demonstrate how applied projects integrated within master’s level graduate programs in the organizational sciences provide students with experiences that facilitate the translation of classroom concepts into practices that positively impact individual, organizational, and societal level outcomes.

We discuss how the scientist-practitioner model guides our thinking regarding the development of cocurriculum options for master’s level students. To give context, we provide thumbnail sketches of two applied programs — a master’s of science degree program in industrial-organizational psychology and a master’s of business administration (MBA) program — that serve as exemplars for linking practice with science.

We demonstrated, with specific examples, how practicum courses can bridge curricular and cocurricular offerings in stand-alone master’s programs, thus offering a glimpse into the range of activities completed by master’s students with little to over 20 years of work experience: job analysis, interview protocol development, program evaluation, talent acquisition, performance management, coaching, as well as training strategy ideation and delivery. We conclude the chapter with final reflections on the use of practicum classes in master’s level training.

The practicum courses detailed serve as unique exemplars of how to apply theory and research to organizational problems, thus bridging science and practice in the organizational sciences.

Kibok Baik is a professor of management at the College of Business and Economics, and Head of Strategic Leadership Center, Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea. He earned his Ph.D. in organizational behavior from the University of Houston. His research interests focus on leadership, cross-cultural issues, and human resource development in multinational corporations. He currently advises dozens of firms in Korea.John W. Boudreau, Ph.D., Professor of human resource studies at Cornell University is recognized worldwide for breakthrough research on the bridge between superior human capital, talent and sustainable competitive advantage. His research has received the Academy of Management’s Organizational Behavior New Concept and Human Resource Scholarly Contribution awards. He consults and conducts executive development with companies worldwide and has published more than 40 books and articles, including the best-selling Human Resource Management (Irwin, 1997), now in its eighth edition in multiple languages worldwide. In addition to HR metrics, Dr. Boudreau’s large-scale research studies and highly focused qualitative research have addressed decision-based HR, executive mobility, HR information systems and organizational staffing and development. Winner of the General Mills Award for teaching innovations, Dr. Boudreau also founded the Central Europe Human Resource Education Initiative, and directed the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS).Janet L. Bryant is a doctoral student in the Ph.D. program in industrial and organizational psychology at Old Dominion University. Her research interests include leadership, virtual work and cross-cultural issues. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.Maxine Dalton is an industrial/organizational psychologist who received her education at the University of South Florida. Her research interests include adult learning and executive development. Her current research is on leadership and social identity conflict in organizations. She has published numerous book chapters, articles and a recent book on global leadership.Donald D. Davis received his Ph.D. in psychology from Michigan State University in 1982, where he also served as assistant director of the Center for Evaluation and Assessment. He has been a professor of organizational psychology at Old Dominion University since that time. He served for seven years as director of the Ph.D. Program in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and has served as a member of the board of directors of the Institute for Asian Studies since its creation in 1989. He has been awarded two Fulbrights – Asian Scholar in Residence (with Zhong-ming Wang, Hangzhou University – now Zhejiang University – Hangzhou, China) and Senior Scholar (Wuhan University, Wuhan, China). He has also held a visiting appointment at the University of Virginia. His research interests include virtual organizations, organization change, technological innovation, cross-cultural organization and management practices, and Chinese organizations. He has published one book and a number of papers on these topics.Jennifer J. Deal is a Research Scientist at the Center for Creative Leadership in San Diego, California, concentrating on global leadership and managing the Emerging Leaders project, which focuses on generational issues in the workplace. She has published a number of articles on topics including generational issues in the workplace, working globally, executive selection, and women in management, and a recent book on global leadership. She holds a B.A. from Haverford College, and a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from The Ohio State University.Daniel Denison is Professor of Management & Organization at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland and is the Founder of Denison Consulting in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is former Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is the author of Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness (1990) and a number of articles on the link between culture and business performance. His survey assessments of culture, teams, and leaders are widely used by many organizations around the world. His website, www.denisonculture.com has extensive information on his work.Joseph John DiStefano is Professor of Organizational Behavior and International Business at IMD International Institute for Management Development (Lausanne, Switzerland) and Professor Emeritus of the Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario (London, Canada). He was educated at R.P.I., Harvard Business School and Cornell University and has been active as a teacher, researcher and consultant on issues of cross-cultural effectiveness since the early 1970s.Peter J. Dowling (Ph.D., The Flinders University of South Australia) is Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of International Management & Strategy in the Division of Business, Law & Information Sciences, University of Canberra. Previous appointments include Foundation Professor of Management at the University of Tasmania, Monash University, the University of Melbourne, and California State University-Chico. He has also held visiting appointments at Cornell University, Michigan State University, the University of Paderborn (Germany) and the University of Bayreuth (Germany). His current research and teaching interests are concerned with International HRM and Strategic Management. His co-authored text International Human Resource Management: Managing People in a Multinational Context, published by South-West, is now in a third edition. He is a former national Vice-President of the Australian Human Resources Institute, past Editor of Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources (1987–1996), and a Life Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute.Chris Ernst is a Research Associate at the Center for Creative Leadership with an international background, and a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from North Carolina State University. His work centers on advancing the capacity for leadership in a diverse and globally interconnected world.Ping Ping Fu is an assistant professor of management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research interests are mainly in leadership and cross-cultural areas. She was the coordinator for the Chinese part for the Global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (GLOBE), and is now leading the CEO study in China. She has published in Journal of Organizational Behavior, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal of International Applied Psychology and Leadership Quarterly.Paulo Goelzer is President of the IGA Institute, an educational foundation providing training to 40 countries in five languages and oversees their international operations. He began his career in the food industry very early, working in a family food business. He has also worked as a senior consultant for Strategy and Food Package Goods Industry Practice for a German/Brazilian consulting company, a researcher and consultant for the Brazilian Wholesaler Association (ABAD), and as a Marketing Director for a grocery wholesale company.

To conduct a content analysis of the portrayal of Frederick W. Taylor in management and psychology textbooks to reveal differences both within and across disciplines.

Forty‐four textbooks from six sub‐disciplines within management and psychology were content analyzed for the amount and accuracy of the material presented about Taylor and the extent to which key terms were included in these descriptions.

The data show that more information is provided in the management texts and the majority of the information conveyed across disciplines appears accurate.

Not all textbooks were examined within all sub‐disciplines within management or psychology or all sub‐disciplines to which Taylor ostensibly contributed. Future research is needed to determine why Taylor is portrayed differently across texts.

Results have important teaching implications as they reveal how accurately textbooks portray one controversial historical figure and what students are learning. Students might be encouraged to consult original sources and information beyond the text. Textbook authors should be held accountable for the accuracy of the information in their texts and may find the comparison information informative. Instructors may find the results useful when selecting a new text.

This paper depicts variability in how historical figures are depicted in textbooks, which is an important part of management history education.

The overall goal of science is to build a valid and reliable body of knowledge about the functioning of the world and how applying that knowledge can change it. As personnel and human resources management researchers, we aim to contribute to the respective bodies of knowledge to provide both employers and employees with a workable foundation to help with those problems they are confronted with. However, what research on research has consistently demonstrated is that the scientific endeavor possesses existential issues including a substantial lack of (a) solid theory, (b) replicability, (c) reproducibility, (d) proper and generalizable samples, (e) sufficient quality control (i.e., peer review), (f) robust and trustworthy statistical results, (g) availability of research, and (h) sufficient practical implications. In this chapter, we first sing a song of sorrow regarding the current state of the social sciences in general and personnel and human resources management specifically. Then, we investigate potential grievances that might have led to it (i.e., questionable research practices, misplaced incentives), only to end with a verse of hope by outlining an avenue for betterment (i.e., open science and policy changes at multiple levels).

Even more than 50 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination toward a number of groups in employment settings in the United States, workplace discrimination remains a persistent problem in organizations. This chapter provides a comprehensive review and analysis of contemporary theory and evidence on the nature, causes, and consequences of discrimination before synthesizing potential methods for its reduction. We note the strengths and weaknesses of this scholarship and highlight meaningful future directions. In so doing, we hope to both inform and inspire organizational and scholarly efforts to understand and eliminate workplace discrimination.

Many people make the assumption that a repetitive job is automatically a boring one. This is not so. For many years, psychologists and other students of work behaviour have been pointing out that boredom is a subjective experience and refers to the individual's reaction to the environmental situation, whereas repetition or monotony is a characteristic of a task as perceived by an individual. Simply put, some repetitive or monotonous tasks are experienced as boring by some people. The aim of this article is to explore the sorts of repetitive tasks which lead to feelings of boredom, the effects of repetitive tasks on boredom and performance, and the methods that both workers and employers can use to reduce these effects.

Soon Ang (Ph.D. Minnesota) is Goh Tjoei Kok Distinguished Chair of Management and Head, Division of Strategy, Management & Organization at the Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research interests are in cultural intelligence, global leadership, and outsourcing. She has published extensively in Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Information Systems Research, Organization Science, Management Science, MIS Quarterly, and Social Forces, and serves on editorial boards including Management Science, Organization Science, Applied Psychology, Decision Science, Information System Research, MIS Quarterly, etc. She has pioneered and coauthored two books on cultural intelligence (Stanford University Press) and coedited the Handbook of Cultural Intelligence (ME Sharpe). She was recently awarded the prestigious Distinguished International Alumni Award by the University of Minnesota for her academic leadership and scholarship record.