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1 – 10 of 578Ralph J. Masi and Robert A. Cooke
As part of an integrative model of leadership, transformational (versus transactional) styles are proposed to be related to subordinates' motivation and commitment to…
Abstract
As part of an integrative model of leadership, transformational (versus transactional) styles are proposed to be related to subordinates' motivation and commitment to quality, the strength of empowering norms at the subunit level, and organizational productivity. Transformational and transactional styles also are proposed to be related to the self‐image of leaders. Hypotheses are tested in a military setting, the United States Army Recruiting Command, through the use of survey data provided by mid‐level leaders, station commanders, and recruiters. Data are supplemented by direct measures of subunit productivity. Results support some, but not all, of the proposed hypotheses. Implications for research and practice are presented, along with limitations of the research.
Richard E. Potter, Robert A. Cooke and Pierre A. Balthazard
Virtual teams are typically made up of geographically dispersed experts, supported by computer‐based communication technologies. Though increasingly popular this is still a…
Abstract
Virtual teams are typically made up of geographically dispersed experts, supported by computer‐based communication technologies. Though increasingly popular this is still a relatively unstudied organizational form. Virtual team membership is typically based solely on needed expertise; the teams rarely have any history of interaction and their performance potential is unknown. Research shows that teams exhibit constructive, passive, and aggressive interaction styles, which have significant effects on the decisions the teams produce as well as the teams’ satisfaction with those decisions. We present managerial tools for the assessment of conventional and virtual team interaction styles. We detail how the tools are used, and we also discuss how the styles manifest in each medium, and their effects. We give suggestions to team managers on how to use the insights the tools provide to manage their virtual teams for optimal performance.
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Pierre A. Balthazard, Robert A. Cooke and Richard E. Potter
This paper aims to describe how organizational culture is manifested in behavioral norms and expectations, focusing on 12 sets of behavioral norms associated with…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe how organizational culture is manifested in behavioral norms and expectations, focusing on 12 sets of behavioral norms associated with constructive, passive/defensive, and aggressive/defensive cultural styles.
Design/methodology/approach
The organizational culture inventory, a normed and validated instrument designed to measure organizational culture in terms of behavioral norms and expectations, was used to test hypotheses regarding the impact of culture. Data are summarized from 60,900 respondents affiliated with various organizations that have used the instrument to assess their cultures. Also presented is a brief overview of a practitioner‐led assessment of four state government departments.
Findings
The results of correlational analyses illustrate the positive impact of constructive cultural styles, and the negative impact of dysfunctional defensive styles, on both the individual‐ and organizational‐level performance drivers. The results clearly link the dysfunctional cultural styles to deficits in operating efficiency and effectiveness.
Originality/value
The concept of organizational culture is derived from research in the field of organizational behavior characterized by use of qualitative methods. Yet, one of the most powerful strategies for organizational development is knowledge‐based change, an approach that generally relies on the use of quantitative measures. Although both methods share the potential for producing cumulative bodies of information for assessment and theory testing, quantitative approaches may be more practical for purposes of knowledge‐based approaches for organizational development generally, and assessing cultural prerequisites for organizational learning and knowledge management specifically.
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Patrick J. Murphy, Robert A. Cooke and Yvette Lopez
The aim of this paper is to clarify distinct aspects of firm culture, delineate its effects on performance outcomes, and to examine culture intensity on theoretic grounds…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to clarify distinct aspects of firm culture, delineate its effects on performance outcomes, and to examine culture intensity on theoretic grounds with attention to its effects and limits.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyzes a data set of 2,657 individual cases that are empirically aggregated into 302 organizational units. Its operationalization of culture intensity derives from distinct culture theory. Hypothesized relations are examined via structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis.
Findings
Structural equation modeling results show culture relates positively to cooperation, coordination, and performance. Hierarchical regression analysis results show intensity influences cooperation and coordination directly and does not moderate culture's relations with those outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
The large scale empirical study of a broad diversity of firms has advantages over smaller and more targeted studies of lesser generalizability.
Practical implications
Firms with cultures of higher intensity can enhance performance indirectly by driving cooperation and coordination directly.
Social implications
Culture entails shared values and touches the human side of a firm. Managers can promote a firm's culture to enhance cooperation and coordination outcomes within that firm which, in turn, influence firm performance.
Originality/value
This study distinguishes culture from climate on conceptual grounds. Climate strength, an analog of culture intensity, is known to moderate climate's relations with outcomes. By contrast, this study shows that culture intensity has a main effect on outcomes, in line with culture's distinct theoretic bases.
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Arief Banindro Kartolo and Catherine T. Kwantes
The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap in the literature by exploring the perceived societal discrimination as an antecedent of perceived organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap in the literature by exploring the perceived societal discrimination as an antecedent of perceived organizational discrimination, and investigating the impact of organizational culture (i.e. constructive, passive-defensive and aggressive-defensive culture norms) on perceptions of discrimination in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 176 American employees completed three surveys assessing perceived societal discrimination, perceived organizational discrimination and organizational culture online through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression method.
Findings
Results suggest individuals’ perceptions of discrimination in the workplace are influenced by both perceived discrimination in society and perceptions of behavioral norms related to organizational culture. Findings in the current study indicated individuals’ attitudes and beliefs manifested in the societal context were carried into, and reflected in, the workplace. Additionally, beliefs related to organizational discrimination were found to be amplified or minimized depending on organizational culture; specifically, organizations dominated by culture norms reflecting behaviors related to individual security needs predicted higher levels, and culture norms reflecting behaviors related to meeting employee satisfaction needs predicted lower levels of perceived organizational discrimination.
Originality/value
This paper tested theoretical frameworks debated in the literature by exploring beyond institutional boundaries in the study of perceived discrimination by exploring perceived societal discrimination as an antecedent to perceived organizational discrimination. This project also is the first study (to authors’ knowledge) to investigate the impact of organizational culture on perceived organizational discrimination.
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Anjali Chaudhry, Ling Yuan, Jia Hu and Robert A. Cooke
Writings on organizational culture suggest that cultural values and norms are influenced by factors at the organizational, industry, and societal levels. While the effects…
Abstract
Purpose
Writings on organizational culture suggest that cultural values and norms are influenced by factors at the organizational, industry, and societal levels. While the effects of societal and organizational factors have been researched extensively, those of industry factors have not received commensurate attention. This paper investigates the relative importance of industry versus organizational variables in explaining the cultural norms reported by individuals within organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The effects of two industry characteristics, (growth rate and research and development intensity) and two sets of organizational factors (leadership behaviors and human resource practices) on the strength of constructive, passive/defensive, and aggressive/defensive organizational cultural norms were investigated.
Findings
Results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis of survey data from 3245 respondents in 424 organizations in twelve different industries revealed significant between-organization variation but no significant between-industry variation in the three types of cultural norms measured. Furthermore, while industry-level factors were unrelated to culture, significant variance in the culture measures was explained by leadership behaviors and human resource practices (use of rewards and fairness of performance appraisal).
Research limitations/implications
The strength of cultural norms and expectations within an organization evolve in response to attributes specific to the organization and do not necessarily reflect industry characteristics. The results indicate that organizations using surveys to assess their cultures may learn as much (if not more) by comparing their feedback to data on organizations across a spectrum of industries as opposed to organizations exclusively in their own industry.
Originality/value
Most of the frameworks developed to examine and describe the cultures of organizations delineate specific dimensions or types that are assumed to be relevant to all organizations regardless of the industries within which they operate. The purpose of this paper was to explore the validity of this assumption by investigating the relative impact of industry and organizational factors on organizational culture.
Through a survey of 200 employees working in five of the thirty establishments analysed in previous research about the microeconomic effects of reducing the working time…
Abstract
Through a survey of 200 employees working in five of the thirty establishments analysed in previous research about the microeconomic effects of reducing the working time (Cahier 25), the consequences on employees of such a reduction can be assessed; and relevant attitudes and aspirations better known.
Rory James Ridley-Duff and Michael Frederick Bull
This paper aims to re-evaluate social enterprise (SE) history to pinpoint a pluralist turn in communitarian philosophy during the 1970s, which has the potential to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to re-evaluate social enterprise (SE) history to pinpoint a pluralist turn in communitarian philosophy during the 1970s, which has the potential to transform labour and consumer rights in enterprise development.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a close examination of model rules created by founders of the FairShares Association (FSA), the authors find that the communitarian origins of SE are disturbingly obscured and hidden.
Findings
In studying FSA documents and building a timeline of the development of the FairShares Model (FSM), the authors found links between SE developments in the UK, continental Europe, Asia, North/South America and the development of solidarity cooperatives.
Research limitations/implications
The authors argue that the discovery of a communitarian pluralist turn advances “new cooperativism” by enfranchising both labour and users in industrial relations (IR). Using this insight, they challenge accounts of SE history and argue for more research on SE’s potential contribution to radical IR.
Originality/value
The paper highlights the potential of the FSM as a vehicle for catalysing new SE and IR practices that share wealth and power more equitably between social entrepreneurs, workforce members, service/product users and community/social investors.
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The purpose of this article is to review the trend in academic libraries toward including scholarly communication, and by extension, electronic publishing, as part of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to review the trend in academic libraries toward including scholarly communication, and by extension, electronic publishing, as part of their core mission, using the Cornell University Library as an example.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes several manifestations of publishing activity organized under the Library's Center for Innovative Publishing, including the arXiv (http://arxiv.org/), Project Euclid (http://projecteuclid.org), and DPubS (http://DPubS.org).
Findings
Libraries bring many competencies to the scholarly communications process, including expertise in digital initiatives, close connections with authors and readers, and a commitment to preservation. To add publishing to their responsibilities, they need to develop expertise in content acquisition, editorial management, contract negotiation, marketing, and subscription management.
Originality/value
Academic libraries are making formal and informal publishing a part of their core activity. A variety of models exist. The Cornell University Library has created a framework for supporting publishing called the Center for Innovative Publishing, and through it supports a successful open access repository (arXiv), a sustainable webhosting service for journals in math and statistics (Project Euclid) and a content management tool (DPubS) to enable other institutions (libraries, scholarly societies, presses) to engage in similar ventures to increase the dissemination of scholarship and to lower the barriers to its access.
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