Search results
1 – 10 of 25Kerry Shephard, Qudsia Kalsoom, Ritika Gupta, Lorenz Probst, Paul Gannon, V. Santhakumar, Ifeanyi Glory Ndukwe and Tim Jowett
Higher education is uncertain which sustainability-related education targets should be sought and monitored. Accepting that something needs to be measurable to be systematically…
Abstract
Purpose
Higher education is uncertain which sustainability-related education targets should be sought and monitored. Accepting that something needs to be measurable to be systematically improved, the authors explored how measures relate to potential targets. This paper aims to focus on dispositions to think critically (active open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking in appraising reasoning) as measures and explored how they related to sustainability concern as an indicative educational target.
Design/methodology/approach
This research included the development and testing of research instruments (scales) that explored dispositions to critical thinking and sustainability concern. Authors researched these instruments within their own correspondence groups and tested them with university students and staff in Pakistan, the USA, Austria, India and New Zealand. The authors also asked a range of contextualising questions.
Findings
Respondents’ disposition to aspects of active, open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking do predict their concern about facets of sustainability but their strength of religious belief was an important factor in these relationships and in their measurement.
Practical implications
This research demonstrates the complexity of monitoring dispositions to think critically and sustainability concern in educational systems, particularly in circumstances where the roles of religious beliefs are of interest; and suggests ways to address this complexity.
Originality/value
This research integrates and expands discourses on ESD and on critical thinking in diverse disciplines and cultures. It investigates measurement approaches and targets that could help higher education institutions to educate for sustainable development and to monitor their progress, in ways that are compatible with their culture and values.
Details
Keywords
Andrea Bazzoli and Tahira M. Probst
Extant research on job insecurity has traditionally investigated this construct as a hindrance stressor, based on theoretical developments and meta-analytical results that have…
Abstract
Extant research on job insecurity has traditionally investigated this construct as a hindrance stressor, based on theoretical developments and meta-analytical results that have shown consistent negative relationships between job insecurity and a host of organizational outcomes. In this chapter, the authors take a person-centered perspective based on the transactional theory of stress and argue that employees can and do appraise job insecurity in different ways which is manifested by qualitatively distinct latent profiles. The authors also argue that certain positive psychological variables (i.e., hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and grit) might influence one’s odds to belong to specific appraisal latent classes. Using a cross-lagged dataset of 322 US-based employees, the authors found evidence of five qualitatively different latent profiles (i.e., employees who viewed job insecurity as: (1) irrelevant, (2) simultaneously moderately challenging and hindering, (3) primarily hindering, (4) both highly challenging and highly hindering, or (5) primarily challenging). Further, the results showed that higher grit was associated with higher odds of belonging to any of the appraisal profiles compared to the high challenge/high hindrance group whereas higher self-efficacy was associated with higher odds of belonging to the irrelevant group compared to any of the appraisal profiles. Hope and optimism, however, did not influence latent class membership. The authors discuss the implications for theory and practice considering seemingly paradoxical findings demonstrating sometimes positive and sometimes negative outcomes of job insecurity, as well as traditional assumptions that employees primarily view job insecurity as either a hindrance or a challenge.
Details
Keywords
Michael Hülsmann, Bernd Scholz-Reiter, Philip Cordes, Linda Austerschulte, Christoph de Beer and Christine Wycisk
The intention of this article is to show possible contributions of the concept of autonomous cooperation to enable complex adaptive logistics systems (CALS) to cope with…
Abstract
The intention of this article is to show possible contributions of the concept of autonomous cooperation to enable complex adaptive logistics systems (CALS) to cope with increasing complexity and dynamics and therefore to increase the systems' information-processing capacity by implementing autopoietic characteristics. In order to reach this target, the concepts of CALS and autopoietic systems will be introduced and connected. The underlying aim is to use the concept of self-organization as one of their essential similarities to lead over to the concept of autonomous cooperation as the most narrow view on self-organizing systems, which is discussed as a possible approach to enable systems to handle an increasing quantity of information. This will be analyzed from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view.
Family constitutions are relatively new to the law of family companies, although there might have been forerunners in the history of entrepreneur families. The practical…
Abstract
Family constitutions are relatively new to the law of family companies, although there might have been forerunners in the history of entrepreneur families. The practical importance and the proliferation of family constitutions in German family companies are increasing, along with the discussion of family constitutions in legal literature. This new instrument of family governance is not law driven but business driven, it has been designed by business advisors. Its analysis and classification are still at the very beginning in academic research and practice. Even though family constitutions are generally deemed to be without any legal effect and not legally binding, from a legal point of view, this assumption is at least highly questionable.
Details
Keywords
Nataly Farroukh, Leila Canaan Messarra and Manal Yunis
In light of COVID-19 and its subsequent disruptions, along with simultaneous changes and transformations taking place, job insecurity (JI) is significantly heightened among…
Abstract
Purpose
In light of COVID-19 and its subsequent disruptions, along with simultaneous changes and transformations taking place, job insecurity (JI) is significantly heightened among employees. This study aims to analyze how JI influences employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and whether positive psychological capital (PsyCap) and grit moderate this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the study hypotheses, data was gathered during COVID-19 via convenience sampling. The collected data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software and Excel MegaStat.
Findings
The empirical data shows that qualitative JI has a negative relationship with OCB. PsyCap and grit moderate the relationship between both JI dimensions and OCB.
Practical implications
Managers can alleviate JI in the workplace by promoting PsyCap and grit among employees, both of which will sustain and promote OCB, even during difficult times.
Originality/value
This study bridges the gap in the literature regarding the impact of JI on employees’ OCB during the pandemic. This study also adds to the limited number of studies exploring personal resources as potential moderators between JI and organization citizenship behavior.
Details
Keywords
Ute-Christine Klehe, Jelena Zikic, Annelies E.M. van Vianen, Jessie Koen and Maximilian Buyken
Economic stressors such as job insecurity, job loss, unemployment, and underemployment cause severe difficulties for the workers affected, their families, organizations, and…
Abstract
Economic stressors such as job insecurity, job loss, unemployment, and underemployment cause severe difficulties for the workers affected, their families, organizations, and societies overall. Consequently, most past research has taken a thoroughly negative perspective on economic stress, addressing its diverse negative consequences and the ways that people try to cope with them. And even when following the advice provided by the scientific literature, people affected by economic stress will usually end up being off worse than they were before the onset of the stressor.
The current chapter pays credit to this perspective yet also tries to counterbalance it with an alternative one. While acknowledging the vast amount of literature outlining the negative consequences of economic stress on peoples’ well-being and careers, some literature also points at opportunities for a more positive perspective. More specifically, we argue that affected people can use a wide repertoire of behaviors for handling their current situation. Of particular promise in this regard is the concept of career adaptability, generally defined as the ability to change to fit into new career-related circumstances. Indeed, studies show that under certain conditions, career adaptability can facilitate people's search for not just any job but for a qualitatively better job, thus breaking through the spiral of losses usually associated with economic stress.
For the purpose of this argument, we link career adaptability to the concept of proactive coping, analyzing how and under which conditions career adaptability may present a contextualized form of proactive coping. We then address known personal and situational antecedents of career adaptability and show how career adaptability may be fostered and trained among different types of job seekers. We end this chapter with a discussion of open questions as well as directions for future research.
Details
Keywords
Stan De Spiegelaere, Monique Ramioul and Guy Van Gyes
The purpose of this paper is to identify different job types in the Belgian electricity sector and their relations with employee outcomes such as work engagement and innovative…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify different job types in the Belgian electricity sector and their relations with employee outcomes such as work engagement and innovative work behaviour (IWB).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a combination of latent profile analysis and relative operating characteristics (ROC) analysis.
Findings
Depending on the job resources and demands, five different job types are identified corresponding largely to the Karasek and Theorell (1990) job types. Their relation with the outcomes is not parallel with low-strain jobs performing best for work engagement, and active jobs for IWB.
Research limitations/implications
The combination of methods used in this study increases significantly the ease of communication of the findings, yet an external benchmark for the ROC analysis would be preferable.
Practical implications
To foster engagement and IWB with employees one should focus on the job content and only increase demands if they are combined with sufficient resources.
Originality/value
This research is the first in its kind that relates latent job types with different employee outcomes using a combination of latent profile and ROC analysis.
Details
Keywords
Heinz Weihrich, Kai‐Uwe Seidenfuss and Volker Goebel
Introduces the traditional German apprenticeship training approach which has been received favourably in US governments (federal and state) and in industry, but suggests that…
Abstract
Introduces the traditional German apprenticeship training approach which has been received favourably in US governments (federal and state) and in industry, but suggests that certain conditions in America do not favour heavy investment in such training. Shows that the educational transfer of the apprenticeship model may be facilitated by German firms investing and operating in the United States, as proved by the electronic giant Siemens which is committed to implementing the proven apprenticeship model in its US subsidiaries. Shows that the apprenticeship model alone may be insufficient, and may need to be supplemented by a higher level, dual system education which integrates theory and practice. Proposes that the Vocational Academy programme, illustrated by the Mercedes‐Benz experience, may fill this gap ‐ not to supplant the apprenticeship training, but to supplement it. Suggests that both the apprenticeship model and the Vocational Academy model, may fill an important need for an educational joint venture approach, not only in the United States but also in other countries, by making business and government organizations more competitive in the global market.
Details
Keywords
Charlotte V. Farewell, Priyanka Shreedar, Diane Brogden and Jini E. Puma
The early care and education (ECE) workforce plays a pivotal role in shaping early childhood developmental trajectories and simultaneously experiences significant mental health…
Abstract
Purpose
The early care and education (ECE) workforce plays a pivotal role in shaping early childhood developmental trajectories and simultaneously experiences significant mental health disparities. The purpose of this study is to investigate how social determinants of health and external stressors are associated with the mental health of ECE staff, which represent a low-resourced segment of the workforce; how psychological capital (psycap) can mitigate these associations.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors administered an 89-item survey to 332 ECE staff employed in 42 Head Start centers in the USA. The authors ran three hierarchical linear regression models to analyze associations between social determinants of health, external sources of stress, psycap and potential moderation effects and mental health outcomes.
Findings
Individuals experiencing greater finance-related stress reported 0.15 higher scores on the depression scale and 0.20 higher scores on the anxiety scale than those experiencing less finance-related stress (p < 0.05). Individuals experiencing greater work-related stress reported 1.26 more days of poorer mental health in the past month than those experiencing less work-related stress (p < 0.01). After controlling for all sociodemographic variables and sources of stress, psycap was significantly and negatively associated with depressive symptomology (b-weight = −0.02, p < 0.01) and the number of poor mental health days reported in the past month (b-weight = −0.13, p < 0.05). Moderation models suggest that higher levels of psycap may mitigate the association between work-related stress and the number of poor mental health days reported in the past month (b-weight = −0.06, p = 0.02).
Originality/value
The implications of these findings suggest a need for policy change to mitigate social determinants of health and promote pay equity and multi-level interventio ns that target workplace-related stressors and psycap to combat poor mental health of the ECE workforce.
Details