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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 1 December 2002

Satyanarayana Parayitam, Margaret A. White and Jill R. Hough

Much has been written about the works of Chester I. Barnard and Frederick W. Taylor but little attempt has been made by scholars to compare Barnard and Taylor. Barnard is a

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Abstract

Much has been written about the works of Chester I. Barnard and Frederick W. Taylor but little attempt has been made by scholars to compare Barnard and Taylor. Barnard is a successor of Taylor and this may be one of the reasons why there has been a reluctance to place them side‐by‐side. The purpose of this paper is to capture the similarities and differences that existed in the thinking of these two individuals who greatly influenced management thinking during the twentieth century.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 40 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 May 2007

Margaret A. White and Suzanne M. Behr

This study provides a model and case example of how mid‐level managers can help realign their workers (develop a chameleon group) when the organization is facing strategic…

Abstract

Purpose

This study provides a model and case example of how mid‐level managers can help realign their workers (develop a chameleon group) when the organization is facing strategic realignment.

Design/methodology/approach

Research has shown that downsizing in the wake of industry‐level stress is not generally successful, yet firms continue the practice. However, some firms have been successful by using restructuring and reorientation methods that allow mid‐level managers to implement new directions for their work teams. The objective of this paper is to develop a four‐step process model for mid‐level managers to use. This model and key areas (resources, corporate goals, key stakeholders) are discussed relative to questions that need to be addressed and actions that need to be taken. Then a successful application of the model is presented.

Findings

Provides and illustrates a model for developing and sustaining chameleon groups (groups in the organization that can change their focus as needed to meet strategic realignment needs).

Research limitations/implications

The paper illustrates one example in the telecommunications industry. The model needs to be applied more widely to determine its overall utility.

Originality/value

This paper offers practical help to any firm or mid‐level manager facing the need for reorientation.

Details

Business Strategy Series, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-5637

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 May 2014

Jason W. Ridge, Dave Kern and Margaret A. White

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of temporal myopia (focussing on the short-term) and spatial myopia (focussing on the current market) on firm strategy…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of temporal myopia (focussing on the short-term) and spatial myopia (focussing on the current market) on firm strategy. Specifically the paper investigates the effects of temporal and spatial myopia on the persistence and conformity of firm strategy. Additionally, the paper tests how environmental munificence moderates these effects. A secondary purpose of this paper is to develop a replicable method of measurement of temporal and spatial myopia.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a manual content analysis of letters to shareholders for 100 firms over three years to measure spatial and temporal myopia. After collecting strategy variables and control variables from Compustat, the authors utilize a random-effects panel methodology.

Findings

The results indicate that strategy is influenced by both temporal and spatial myopia. Specifically, temporal myopia creates a focus on the firm's current strategy, leading to a persistent strategy over time and spatial myopia focusses firm decision makers on better known technologies and competitors, leading to conformity to industry strategic profiles. Additionally, the paper tests how environmental munificence influences these relationships. In total, the paper finds that the differing types of managerial myopia have distinct influences on firm outcomes.

Originality/value

This paper makes two important contributions to the literature on managerial myopia. First, the paper investigates the differential effects of both spatial and temporal myopia on firm strategy, topics that have been relatively overlooked in empirical investigations of decision making. Second, the paper develops replicable measures for both temporal and spatial myopia, which have been previously suggested to limit the ability to empirically test the implications of managerial myopia (Laverty, 1996).

Details

Management Decision, vol. 52 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2004

Jill R. Hough and Margaret A. White

While it is generally accepted that scanning supports organizational adaptation to the environment, scanning behavior may vary with the amount of environmental change. Information…

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Abstract

While it is generally accepted that scanning supports organizational adaptation to the environment, scanning behavior may vary with the amount of environmental change. Information processing perspectives suggest that scanning activity will increase in response to increasing environmental uncertainty. Yet, social cognition perspectives suggest that scanning decreases at high and low levels of uncertainty since useful information is either unattainable or is already known. Using a combined perspective in a strategic decision‐making context, this study hypothesized that scanning would be greatest at high and low levels of uncertainty to support identification of previously unexploited niches. Results indicate that the level of environmental dynamism combined with the manager's functional position explains scanning behavior.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 42 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 22 May 2007

351

Abstract

Details

Business Strategy Series, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-5637

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2002

Bob Duckett

47

Abstract

Details

Reference Reviews, vol. 16 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0950-4125

Keywords

Open Access

Abstract

Details

Gerontechnology
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-292-5

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1997

Anghel N. Rugina

The equation of unified knowledge says that S = f (A,P) which means that the practical solution to a given problem is a function of the existing, empirical, actual realities and…

3072

Abstract

The equation of unified knowledge says that S = f (A,P) which means that the practical solution to a given problem is a function of the existing, empirical, actual realities and the future, potential, best possible conditions of general stable equilibrium which both pure and practical reason, exhaustive in the Kantian sense, show as being within the realm of potential realities beyond any doubt. The first classical revolution in economic thinking, included in factor “P” of the equation, conceived the economic and financial problems in terms of a model of ideal conditions of stable equilibrium but neglected the full consideration of the existing, actual conditions. That is the main reason why, in the end, it failed. The second modern revolution, included in factor “A” of the equation, conceived the economic and financial problems in terms of the existing, actual conditions, usually in disequilibrium or unstable equilibrium (in case of stagnation) and neglected the sense of right direction expressed in factor “P” or the realization of general, stable equilibrium. That is the main reason why the modern revolution failed in the past and is failing in front of our eyes in the present. The equation of unified knowledge, perceived as a sui generis synthesis between classical and modern thinking has been applied rigorously and systematically in writing the enclosed American‐British economic, monetary, financial and social stabilization plans. In the final analysis, a new economic philosophy, based on a synthesis between classical and modern thinking, called here the new economics of unified knowledge, is applied to solve the malaise of the twentieth century which resulted from a confusion between thinking in terms of stable equilibrium on the one hand and disequilibrium or unstable equilibrium on the other.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 24 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 March 2015

Yoon G. Lee, Margaret A. Fitzgerald, Kenneth R. Bartkus and Myung-Soo Lee

With data from the 2003 and 2005 National Minority Business Owners Survey, we examined the extent to which minority business owners differ from nonminority business owners in…

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Abstract

With data from the 2003 and 2005 National Minority Business Owners Survey, we examined the extent to which minority business owners differ from nonminority business owners in their reported use of adjustment strategies, and the relationship between the use of adjustment strategies and perceived business success. The sample consisted of 193 African American, 200 Mexican American, 200 Korean American, and 210 white business owners. Mexican American and Korean American business owners reported higher levels of adjustment strategy use than African American and white business owners. The ordinary least squares show that reallocating family resources to meet business needs and reallocating business resources to meet family needs were negatively associated with perceived business success, whereas hiring paid help was positively associated with perceived business success.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2010

Margaret Yap

This paper aims to explore an extensive set of determinants of earnings and to offer recent empirical evidence of their effects on gender and racial earnings gaps.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore an extensive set of determinants of earnings and to offer recent empirical evidence of their effects on gender and racial earnings gaps.

Design/methodology/approach

Most previous studies looked at gender and racial comparisons independently of each other. This study extends previous studies by considering the interaction between gender and race. Using administrative data from a large Canadian firm, this paper explores the determinants of earnings based on a standard human capital model, comparing the earnings of white females, minority males and minority females with their white male counterparts. Both the dummy variable approach and a decomposition analysis are employed.

Findings

The results show that ranking in the organizational hierarchy accounts for most of the differences in gender and racial earnings, and ranking, together with human capital and job characteristics variables, explains over 90 percent of the earnings gap.

Research limitations/implications

The analyses in the paper are based on data from a Canadian organization with nation‐wide operations. The findings may not apply to small or medium sized enterprises in Canada and in other non‐Western economies.

Practical implications

To eliminate the earnings gap, equal pay programs need to be supplemented by effective employers' programs and policies targeted at equal advancement opportunity.

Originality/value

The paper uses firm‐level data, which provides natural controls for variations across firms and allows for more in‐depth analysis of the impact of various factors on earnings differentials.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

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