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This chapter describes the ways in which tasks structure group discussion and performance in organizational settings. Work teams are defined as three or more members of the same organization who work interdependently toward a shared task or goal while supporting that organization's mission. Action teams are a specific type of work group. They are characterized by tactical tasks that require newly formed teams to perform in high-stakes situations. This chapter starts by covering historical trends in organizational culture and climate and team training. The remainder of the chapter focuses on the interrelationships among tasks, communication, and performance. Several tips for managing effective work teams, such as staying on task during meetings and responding to changing team membership, are discussed. This chapter closes by making recommendations for future research.

For one merit-based undergraduate scholarship program at Washington University in St. Louis (the University), discovery and dialogue have been essential to the program’s nearly 30-year existence. Named for Dr. John B. Ervin, the first African American Dean at Washington University in St. Louis, the John B. Ervin Scholars Program has attracted, recruited, retained, and graduated over 600 students deemed to exemplify extraordinary commitments to four pillars – scholarship, leadership, service, and diversity. Because the Program’s administrators have cultivated a community grounded in discovery and dialogue, the Ervin Scholars’ resolve to foster a more just and equitable society has deepened over time, perhaps preparing them for this time in which universities, this nation, and our world face crises over race. This resolve has manifested the last few years as Ervin Scholars have responded quickly to racial issues at Washington University in St. Louis and throughout the nation.

With its 30-year foundation, the John B. Ervin Scholars Program continues to develop, nurture, and support young people who advance discovery and dialogue. Drawing on a number of interviews, Program and University publications, and external publications, “A Legacy of Commitment,” the second installment of the Program’s history, demonstrates how the presence, contributions, and achievements of Ervin Scholars have changed Washington University in St. Louis. The Ervin Program has been an important part of the University’s efforts to be more diverse and inclusive, and it will continue to be integral to the University’s current and future plans.

When an institution diversifies its student body, its effort must extend past admissions to ensuring students an inclusive learning environment. We describe the changes made and proposed by the College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) following the university’s commitment to becoming more racially and socioeconomically diverse, as a case study for institutions engaged in similar efforts. In developing proposals for change, we consider design challenges such as how to define our target populations specifically enough to allow for meaningful engagement while avoiding stigmatizing or further marginalizing the students we want to help. New initiatives include: faculty and staff training, curricular change, and development of a more robust academic early warning system. We continue building mentoring programs and enhancing existing cohort building programs. While the success of particular programs may be tied in part to institutional specifics, certain lessons can be generalized. Communication about new initiatives, during both development and implementation prove critical, as students interact with often siloed offices within the university. Small-scale pilots with specific student populations can be effective stop-gaps while the university makes larger institutional changes and as experiments with different approaches. Assessment of initiatives, though challenging, must be attempted to understand whether new activities impact outcomes, and if so, which components provide the most value. A straightforward formula for an inclusive college environment which fosters success equally for all students appears unlikely, but the development of evidence-based best practices provides a starting point for institutions interested in change.

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.

Most international marketing studies, taking a sociological position, assume homogeneity within and heterogeneity between cultures. Taking a psychological position and based on the Mindscape Theory, the purpose of this paper is to support the hypothesis that there is intra-cultural and intra-market heterogeneity.

The translated survey for international use has many problems. These problems can greatly be minimized by the use of pictorial/geometric shapes that were used in this study. These shapes were constructed using redundant and non-redundant complexity, and made to be culture neutral.

Data analysis supported the presence of three of the four Mindscape types as was hypothesized, indicating individual intra-market heterogeneity in the three cultures under investigation. Additionally, the corollary hypothesis of transcultural heterogeneity was confirmed.

It has been proposed that Mindscape types are partly innate and partly learned. What proportions constitute each part? Can the learned aspect be unlearned? Can different marketing strategies appeal to each? What marketing programs are better suited to influence the learned aspect? Future studies could explore these issues.

The findings of this paper have wide applicability and implications for international marketing strategy, including ways of deploying market segmentation, target marketing, positioning strategies, as well as configurations of marketing mix elements.

This paper used a novel and unique way for data collection and analysis. A geometric-pictorial survey was used for data collection. Data analysis was done with factor analysis and cluster analysis combined.

The purpose of this paper is to use empirical data to examine the impacts of integrating sustainability elements on the performance of supply chains of manufacturing small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).

The conceptual framework was based on the systems theory and the triple bottom line concept. Purposive sampling approach was used to collect data from a cross-section of manufacturing SMEs. Partial least square (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to explore the relationships among the constructs.

The results indicate strong statistically significant positive relationships between each of the three sustainability elements and integration constructs. Sustainability integration is a mediating variable that explains a significant variance in performance of a supply chain. Supply chain performance is determined by the degree of integration of the three sustainability elements.

The research focused on SMEs in the manufacturing industry in a less developed economy. An extension of the findings to the service industry and larger manufacturing firms and different operating environments may be limited.

Sustainability integration enhances supply chain performance and can be a competitive tool for manufacturing SMEs. The research emphasizes the value of sustainability integration into supply chains of manufacturing SMEs in less developed countries.

This is an original research that examined the impacts of sustainability integration on performance of supply chains of manufacturing SMEs in a developing economy. This research used empirical data to establish that integration of the three sustainability elements collectively acts as a critical mediating variable that determines the performance of a supply chain. The research also demonstrates the use of PLS-SEM to analyze supply chain attributes that cannot be directly measured.

Socio‐affective state can affect appetite, and choice of food or drink can affect mood and social perception. Effects of dietary constituents on the brain often play some role in these food‐mood linkages but they are forged into strong and particular shape by personal involvement in cultural practices surrounding consumption of particular items. Briefly discusses psychological research into the following examples: alcoholic drinks, tea and coffee, nutritive tonics and dieters′ “danger foods”.

This study aims to examine the individual and contextual predictors of managerial attitudes toward employees with chronic depression (EwCD) in the hospitality and tourism field, the relationship between managerial attitudes toward EwCD and levels of organizational citizenship behavior, and the mediating role of personality in this relationship.

Empirical data were collected through an online survey of 305 managers working in the hospitality and tourism industry in the USA. SmartPLS 3 software was used to conduct a partial least squares-structural equation modeling analysis.

Organizational and individual characteristics of managers, such as pressure to be productive in the workplace, previous experience with depression, levels of anxiety and personality characteristics, are strong predictors of attitudes toward employees with depression. Personality mediates the effect of managers’ attitudes toward organizational citizenship behavior.

The study provided support that managers who have experienced depression are more understanding of the needs of EwCD and, consequently, can reduce related stigma in the workplace. Likewise, open and agreeable managers who do not feel the constant pressure to showcase high performance and who score low on anxiety and high on organizational citizenship behavior can create a safe working environment free from prejudice and discrimination toward EwCD.

Examining depression in the hospitality and tourism industry becomes even more critical as mental health issues are increasing in the workplace. This research contributes to the hospitality and tourism literature, which seldom investigates managerial perspectives of mental illness and sheds light on the desirable managerial personality traits necessary for creating an inclusive workplace.