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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating effect of practicing core values on the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement in a Korean corporate environment.

Self-report data on authentic leadership, practicing core values, and work engagement were obtained from 281 employees of three major corporations in South Korea. Structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze the data.

The results revealed a direct and significant influence of authentic leadership on both practicing core values and work engagement. In addition, practicing core values was found to have a partial mediating effect on the relationship between authentic leadership and work engagement.

This study revealed a three-factor model of authentic leadership compared to the four-factor model found in western cultural contexts. Similar findings are indicated for other Asian countries. A rigorous future study is warranted to validate the psychometric structure across different cultural settings. Harman’s single factor test was performed to address the common method variance issue.

Practicing core values functioned as a catalyst for developing authentic leaders. Therefore, it is necessary that organizational development practitioners perform developmental activities to purposefully facilitate practicing core values.

The study falls under the isolated or disregarded researched topic of the practicing core values in relation to authentic leadership and work engagement.

This paper aims to explore the effects of the increased influence of accounting on core values and practices within the services providing home care in Sweden – a public sector setting involving inter‐organisational cooperation.

Case study data were obtained primarily through semi‐structured interviews with managers and front‐line staff involved in home care.

When accountingisation is extended to include inter‐organisational cooperation, a form of heterogeneous accountingisation occurred in the home care services: an internal domain (with a low level of accountingisation) could be differentiated from an inter‐organisational domain (with a high level of accountingisation). When the accounting‐induced disturbances intensified, there was a redefinition of core values. In the internal domain, core values of pensioner‐oriented focus and flexibility during service delivery persisted. In contrast, in the inter‐organisational domain, core values had the legal boundaries of the organisation as their central foundation, standardisation was emphasised, and inter‐organisational work practices were defined as the other organisation's responsibility. The findings also extend the research on absorption groups by indicating the rise of a new type of absorption process. Absorption was not undertaken by a few individuals, specialist work groups or satellite organisations, as described in the literature; instead, all front‐line welfare professionals were involved in absorbing the accounting‐induced disturbances when performing their tasks.

This case study research is context‐specific and the meaning and consequences of accountingisation may differ within the public sector because of the status and strength of professional groups concerned.

To date, research on accountingisation has primarily employed an intra‐organisational perspective. This paper analyses accountingisation in an inter‐organisational setting.

This paper sets out to present a comparative study of the core values of 16 excellence models vis‐à‐vis human values enshrined in ancient religious philosophies and identified by social scientists as a spiritual way of working.

Contemporary excellence models (EMs) are considered as role models to attain success, and thus it is appropriate to review the effectiveness of their core values. The core values of 16 EMs are identified through a literature review and are studied comparatively. Further, common human values enshrined in various religious philosophies and also advocated by research as success strategies are identified for the comparative study.

The paper identifies and compares the core values of 16 contemporary excellence models. By and large, the focus of core values in EMs is similar. However, the Deming Prize has a uniqueness and different focus in comparison with other models. Some of the common values are customer focus, continuous learning, innovation and improvement, employee involvement and development, partnership development, systems, process‐based management, agility, and social responsibility. Human values emphasise the purity of the means and their adoption enhances stakeholders' loyalty. Core values will become more effective if they emanate from human values.

The comparative study provides a new perspective for the integration of business values of EMs with human values. It may be useful for the custodians, the GEM council, researchers and practitioners to enhance their understanding of values and their impact in enhancing sustainable growth and prosperity.

The study is expected to help in a review of national business excellence strategies worldwide. The integration of excellence models with human values by model custodians and corporate leadership will lead to an exponential growth in business and prosperity for all stakeholders.

The study is a part of original research work at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India by the author after long experience in the implementation of excellence initiatives in industry. The paper is one of the few comprehensive studies of excellence models and focuses on the integration of learning to attain sustainable growth and prosperity in a competitive environment.

The purpose of the paper is to elaborate, interpret, discuss and decode excellence in a new way by focusing on some of the critical success factors for attaining and sustaining excellence.

The framework used for analysis is an old text which explains how to attain excellence. Literature references from 2,500 years back and to excellence literature from the last 25 years, together with a few case studies, are used to “de‐code” the meaning and the complexity of the old text.

After final reflections it is concluded that the old text contains deep meanings and cover the complex nature of attaining and sustaining excellence. The few sentences are a kind of code, a crystallized form explaining how excellence can be attained.

This kind of analysis has not been done before. It is believed that the findings will have a great value both for researchers and for practitioners as well as organizations which are trying to attain excellence.

The purpose of this study was to examine the quality performance of the Egyptian manufacturing industry based on Flynn's quality management practices framework.

A literature-based questionnaire was developed to collect the research data. The sample studied included 193 professionals from different manufacturing firms in Egypt. The research model utilized seven first-order constructs to measure infrastructure and core quality practices and the model was analyzed by structural equation modeling.

The results of the study showed that infrastructure practices had a positive effect on core quality practices, which in turn, significantly influenced quality performance. The findings confirmed that Egyptian manufacturing firms have a good foundation of quality management practices enabling them to improve quality performance.

This study provides a foundation for Egyptian manufacturing firms to develop a practical plan for implementing total quality management (TQM). In addition, the results of this study will help managers and policy makers develop a thorough understanding of the current status of TQM initiatives, enablers and barriers in Egypt.

The study represents one of the few attempts to examine quality practices and quality performance in the manufacturing sector in Egypt. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study to examine these parameters in this context in Egypt.

This paper describes and analyses an attempt to engage in transformational learning, oriented to the development of a culture of innovation, at a medium‐size software development organization in Australia.

An action research methodology was used whereby continuous cycles of strategic social learning were collectively theorized, implemented, evaluated and renewed.

The most important finding of this study is that of the influence of power relations and communication practices upon learning‐for‐innovation in organizations, and the need for the mediation of this influence through the creation of an organizational role that we have entitled an “external critic”. The case also shows the central importance of the relational dimension of social capital generation to learning and the sensitivity of this dimension to power relations.

The research provides a rich analysis of one company's attempt to learn how to build and sustain a culture of innovation but, as with all case study research, the findings cannot be reliably generalized to other companies. Similarly, the case generates grounded theory that needs to be tested in other organizational contexts.

The case raises the issue of power management in organizations and its relationship to social learning practices. In particular, it argues for the establishment of a “negotiated order” in organizations (through a mission, vision and core values that are collectively and meaningfully constituted) and for the role of an “external critic” whereby the power of the executive, especially, can be mediated effectively in the interests of mission‐critical learning within the organization.

The paper offers an original strategy for the mediation of power in organizations in the interests of greater learning, creativity and innovation.

Avery and Bergsteiner's updated set of 23 sustainable leadership practices derived from sustainable enterprises and five performance outcomes provides a framework to examine the business practices of Thailand's largest conglomerate, Siam Cement Group (SCG). The aim of this paper is to build on and expand Kantabutra and Avery's study based on Avery.

The analysis was conducted by grouping Avery and Bergsteiner's principles into six categories, namely taking a long‐term perspective, investing in people, adapting the organizational culture, being innovative, exhibiting social and environmental responsibility, and behaving ethically. Adopting a multi‐data collection approach, research teams supplemented case study data with non‐participant observations from visits to the conglomerate and its training sessions. Multiple stakeholders were interviewed in semi‐structured interviews. Documentation and information supplied by, or published about, the conglomerate was consulted.

All six sets of practices, which sharply contrast with the prevailing business model of short‐term maximization of profitability but are consistent with the 23 sustainable leadership practices, were found to apply in varying degrees to SCG. A total of 19 applied strongly, with three others moderately strong.

Given that sustainable leadership principles are associated with enhanced brand and reputation, customer and staff satisfaction, and financial performance, the new Sustainable Leadership Grid provides corporate leaders with a useful checklist for this purpose.

This paper reports on the first examination of Avery and Bergsteiner's 23 sustainable leadership elements in a developing economy. It shows that even a publicly‐listed company can resist pressures to conform to business‐as‐usual practices and adopt the long‐term, socially responsible principles of “honeybee” sustainable leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between TQM/Six Sigma practices and their impact on performance.

Based on the literature review of research that investigated the TQM and Six Sigma best practices and performance, the TQM/Six Sigma practices are classified into three key categories: top management commitment and support (TMCS), infrastructure and core practices. This paper proposes a path model linking these practices and performance. The empirical data were obtained from a survey of 91 Tunisian companies in different sectors. The research model was tested using partial least squares (PLS) technique based on SmartPLS software.

The result shows that the implementation of Six Sigma practices is based majorly on the TQM practices. Also, it reveals the positive impact of TQM/Six Sigma practices on performance. Furthermore, the analysis of path model reveals the relative interdependence and significant link between TMCS, infrastructure, core practices and performance.

The path model tested in this study combines the TQM/Six Sigma practices and reveals their link with performance, which enhance the research theory of both two approaches. Moreover, it will be a useful support for the quality expert on the effective integration of TQM and Six Sigma methods.

This study is the first one which studies the link between TQM/Six Sigma practices and company’s performance in the Tunisian context based on PLS technique.

The purpose of this chapter is to shed light on humanistic knowledge traditions and highlight their value in informing educational administration and leadership curricula designed for graduate students. We argue that, despite their distinctive features, humanist traditions such as the Confucian, Buddhist, Islamic and European share many core values and practices that should be incorporated into the educational administration and leadership curricula. However, these traditions tend to be overlooked or marginalised by curriculum designers. We argue that incorporating these traditions into educational administration and leadership curricula can contribute to greater internationalisation and achieve a greater diversity. The chapter starts with an exploration of the origins, nature and definitions of humanism. The following parts discuss Confucian, Buddhist, Islamic and European humanist traditions and examine how they can contribute to shaping educational administration and leadership curricula.

The purpose of this paper is to assess if the core value of Chinese traditional culture (harmony) still remains in managers’ hearts, and what factors influence this core value’s persistence. This was done by assessing the harmonious competencies of China’s county and department-level officials based on the competing values framework.

A survey of 1,000 county and department-level officials was taken at random based on the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security’s public sector employee listings. An empirical assessment was made and a hierarchical linear regression approach was used.

Though Chinese traditional culture has been blended with communist ideology and Western practices in government administration, the core value of Chinese bureaucracy still remains that which is carried in officials’ minds. In general, public officials possess a satisfactory level of harmonious competency. The regression results showed that some factors influence harmonious competency significantly, which disproves the view that harmonious competency might be merely engendered in officials by being born and growing up in Chinese traditional culture.

Given the assumption that a Chinese-born citizen could inherit the core value of its traditional culture is commonplace, the paper reveals that because the current Chinese culture is a mix of socialist thinking, traditional culture and Western practices, it cannot be assumed any more that the core value of Chinese culture is inherited automatically. On the contrary, it could be promoted by changing or cultivating certain factors in workplaces.