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Article
Publication date: 3 May 2024

Meg Aum Warren, Haley Bock, Tejvir Sekhon and Katie Winkelman

Pregnant employees experience considerable interpersonal discrimination. This study explores the range of possible reactions of observers to pregnancy self-disclosure…

Abstract

Purpose

Pregnant employees experience considerable interpersonal discrimination. This study explores the range of possible reactions of observers to pregnancy self-disclosure, interpersonal discrimination and various allyship interventions, and the attentional processes that lead to those reactions. Consequently, it uncovers socio-cognitive processes underlying support for and backlash toward pregnancy in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a thought-listing technique to explore observers’ spontaneous thoughts related to pregnancy. Working adults were randomly assigned to read through one of the six scenarios depicting pregnancy self-disclosure, interpersonal discrimination and male allyship interventions (i.e. stating the organization’s anti-discrimination policy, confronting the transgressor by calling out sexism, pivoting the conversation to highlight the strengths of the pregnant employee and a hybrid intervention combining highlighting strengths and confrontation) after which participants listed the top three thoughts that came to their mind (1,668 responses). Responses were thematically analyzed to explore spontaneous reactions toward the pregnant employee, transgressor and ally in the scenario.

Findings

Surprisingly, across all scenarios, the most sexist thoughts emerged during pregnancy self-disclosure, even in the absence of any transgression. After a transgression occurred, any allyship intervention was better than none in eliciting lesser sexist backlash against the pregnant employee. Stating the organization’s anti-discrimination policy was most beneficial for the pregnant employee in eliciting the least sexist backlash but at the cost of generating unfavorable impressions of the ally. Calling out the transgressor’s bias elicited the most sexist backlash toward the pregnant employee, yet it created favorable impressions of the ally. In contrast, highlighting the strengths of the pregnant employee created the most favorable impression of the ally while eliciting a few sexist thoughts about the pregnant employee. Overall, the hybrid intervention was the most effective at balancing the competing goals of generating support for the pregnant employee, creating favorable impressions of the ally, as well as holding the transgressor accountable.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates that the type of allyship intervention critically redirects the attentional focus of observers to certain aspects of a discrimination episode and relevant schemas which can generate support or backlash toward targets, transgressors and allies, thereby advancing or obstructing equity and inclusion in organizations.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2024

Xiaolin (Crystal) Shi, Xiaoting Huang, Zimeng Guo and Susan Elizabeth Gordon

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of employees’ trait rumination on the variability of their state rumination and the continuing influence on their…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of employees’ trait rumination on the variability of their state rumination and the continuing influence on their negative affect at home.

Design/methodology/approach

A time-lagged experience sampling method was used for the data collection from full-time employees in the hotel industry. The hypotheses were tested with multilevel modeling using a random coefficient modeling approach.

Findings

Hotel employees who are high in trait rumination generally show high levels of state rumination and greater within-person variability in state rumination over time. Additionally, the negative effects of workplace state rumination can last until employees come home and the next day before going to work. Furthermore, employees who are high in trait rumination are more likely to be influenced by state rumination, as they experience more negative affect after arriving home.

Practical implications

Rumination has been shown to decrease hotel employee overall well-being. The findings of this study provide suggestions for remedial measures that can be taken by hotel organizations to help employees address ruminative thinking.

Originality/value

Drawing on response styles and work/family border theories, this study contributes to the rumination literature by considering both trait rumination and state rumination in a broader context. For a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic temporal characteristics of state rumination, this study considers the net intraindividual variability of state rumination as the outcome of trait rumination.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 October 2022

Muhammad Ali, Susan Freeman, Lei Shen, Lin Xiong and Muhammad Adnan Zahid Chudhery

This study clarifies how intra-organizational social capital (IOSC) and unit-organizational ambidexterity (UOA), using resource-based view and dynamic capability theory, together…

Abstract

Purpose

This study clarifies how intra-organizational social capital (IOSC) and unit-organizational ambidexterity (UOA), using resource-based view and dynamic capability theory, together support organizational value creation. While there is research in strategic human resource management (SHRM) exploring the role of resources and its uses, there remains limited understanding of how resources are linked and their effective utilization in the service sector. This study aims to examine the mediating process linking employee-experienced service-oriented high-performance work systems (SHPWS) experienced by employees and service performance by integrating IOSC and UOA.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses time lagged data from managers and employees of different branches of Chinese state-owned banks. To test the proposed hypotheses, path analysis was applied.

Findings

The path analysis results reveal that employee-experienced SHPWS is an important antecedent of service performance. Moreover, IOSC (as resources) and UOA (uses) strongly mediate the theorized relationship.

Originality/value

This study attempts to refine theory and practice with clearer, more insightful and coherent means to better understand and help unpack the ‘black box’ between SHPWS-performance relationships through a new linkage model.

Article
Publication date: 19 December 2023

Susan Gardner Archambault

Research shows that postsecondary students are largely unaware of the impact of algorithms on their everyday lives. Also, most noncomputer science students are not being taught…

Abstract

Purpose

Research shows that postsecondary students are largely unaware of the impact of algorithms on their everyday lives. Also, most noncomputer science students are not being taught about algorithms as part of the regular curriculum. This exploratory, qualitative study aims to explore subject-matter experts’ insights and perceptions of the knowledge components, coping behaviors and pedagogical considerations to aid faculty in teaching algorithmic literacy to postsecondary students.

Design/methodology/approach

Eleven semistructured interviews and one focus group were conducted with scholars and teachers of critical algorithm studies and related fields. A content analysis was manually performed on the transcripts using a mixture of deductive and inductive coding. Data analysis was aided by the coding software program Dedoose (2021) to determine frequency totals for occurrences of a code across all participants along with how many times specific participants mentioned a code. Then, findings were organized around the three themes of knowledge components, coping behaviors and pedagogy.

Findings

The findings suggested a set of 10 knowledge components that would contribute to students’ algorithmic literacy along with seven behaviors that students could use to help them better cope with algorithmic systems. A set of five teaching strategies also surfaced to help improve students’ algorithmic literacy.

Originality/value

This study contributes to improved pedagogy surrounding algorithmic literacy and validates existing multi-faceted conceptualizations and measurements of algorithmic literacy.

Details

Information and Learning Sciences, vol. 125 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2024

Susan Shortland and Stephen J. Perkins

The purpose of this paper is to understand how those involved in executive pay determination in large publicly quoted UK businesses see the role of diversity within remuneration…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how those involved in executive pay determination in large publicly quoted UK businesses see the role of diversity within remuneration committees (Remcos) as enabling the input of different perspectives, which can enhance their decision-making and potentially improve pay outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 18 high-profile major-enterprise decision-makers and their advisers, i.e. non-executive directors (NEDs) serving Remcos, institutional investors, executive pay consultants and internal human resources (HR) reward specialists, together with data from three focus groups with 10 further reward management practitioners.

Findings

Remco members recognise the benefits of social category/demographic diversity but say the likelihood of increasing this is low, given talent pipeline issues. The widening of value diversity is considered problematic for Remcos’ functioning. Informational diversity is used as a proxy for social category/demographic diversity to improve Remcos’ decision-making on executive pay. While the inclusion of members from wider social networks is recognised as potentially bringing a different informational perspective, the social character of Remcos, reflecting their elite nature and experience of wealth, appears ingrained.

Originality/value

Our original contribution is to extend the application of upper echelons theory in the context of Remco decision-making to explain why members do not welcome widening informational diversity by appointing people from different social networks who lack value similarity. Instead, by drawing views from employees, HR acts as a proxy for social network informational diversity. The elite, upper-echelons nature of Remco appointments remains unchanged and team functioning is not disrupted.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Innovation Science, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-2223

Article
Publication date: 26 February 2024

Christine de Largy, Deirdre Anderson and Susan Vinnicombe

This study aims to deepen our understanding of how inclusionary practices are used within organizations and how they satisfy specific inclusion needs.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to deepen our understanding of how inclusionary practices are used within organizations and how they satisfy specific inclusion needs.

Design/methodology/approach

We adopt a qualitative research design, reporting on data from semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 diversity and inclusion (D&I) directors/leads and using a thematic approach to analysis.

Findings

Our study expands understanding of inclusion practices, showing that they are not uniformly implemented and that practices may satisfy both needs to belong and differences valued, with interviewees prioritizing belonging. Well-being and career development are seen as important inclusion practices demonstrating support and appreciation of difference, thus as inputs, not outputs, of inclusion challenging existing assumptions. Inclusionary practices are malleable, and their impact depends critically on the leaders involved and their commitment to EDI.

Originality/value

Our study shows how practices satisfy inclusion needs and that the implementation of practices varies depending on the leaders involved.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 March 2023

Stephanie Van Ha and Ivan Sun

The purpose of this paper is to examine Asian Americans' perceptions of the police, specifically how they construct support. Although such literature has been growing in recent…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine Asian Americans' perceptions of the police, specifically how they construct support. Although such literature has been growing in recent years, research on Asian American interactions with the police remains limited. Additionally, this paper is situated within the theoretical framework of system justification theory to account for Asian Americans' views of the police.

Design/methodology/approach

This study relies on interview data collected from 20 Asian Americans residing in mid-Atlantic states. Participants were either recruited directly by the researchers or through the snowball-sampling method.

Findings

Police support is influenced by perception of neighborhood safety, personal police contact and empathetic feelings toward the police. Specifically, regarding the latter component, humanizing or empathizing with police officers is a form of rationalizing individual police misconduct that reinforced police legitimacy. Most participants had similar characteristics and displayed police justification. Additional research is needed regarding what characteristics or patterns are likely to lead to lower levels of police justification.

Originality/value

This article's findings improve our understanding of system justification among Asian Americans, particularly as it relates to policing.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 47 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 February 2024

Thomas Gauthier

American Community colleges are vital to the country's economic mobility and are leaders in developing and facilitating career, technical, and workforce education. This study…

Abstract

Purpose

American Community colleges are vital to the country's economic mobility and are leaders in developing and facilitating career, technical, and workforce education. This study explored employer perspectives on employees' common and specialized skills across industries in the United States.

Design/methodology/approach

Employers were profiled for one year using a case study and content analysis method. They submitted performance records for at least three employees who graduated from community college career, technical, or workforce programs.

Findings

Data revealed that overall, employees were successful at work, but employers focused on employability skills across disciplines (common skills); specialized skills employers focused on were associated with business operations and processes and seemed to be something other than industry-specific technical knowledge.

Originality/value

This article and the research it refers to constitute original work that has not been reproduced or published. The value of this article is premised on new longitudinal data, which could be used to improve and progress institutional CTE and WD programs.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 5 April 2024

Susan V. White and Karen Hallows

This case was researched using publicly available sources, including Mercury Systems financial filings and press releases, news stories about the seasoned equity offering…

Abstract

Research methodology

This case was researched using publicly available sources, including Mercury Systems financial filings and press releases, news stories about the seasoned equity offering, financial information from Bloomberg and industry information from IBISWorld Industry Reports and articles related to seasoned/secondary equity offerings, intangible asset valuation and the use of revolving lines of credit. Quotes are taken from Mercury financial reports and press releases and express the (optimistic) opinions of company executives.

Case overview/synopsis

Mercury Systems, a technology company in the aerospace and defense industry, announced a six million share seasoned stock offering in June 2019. This resulted in a 6% stock price decrease. A stock price decrease is a typical event when a firm announces the issuance of new common shares, but with Mercury Systems, there were concerns about how much money the firm needed to fund its strategy of growth through acquisitions. If internally generated funds were not sufficient, should the firm issue debt or have another seasoned equity issue? Students will look at the objectives and success of the most recent seasoned equity issue, determine future funds needs and how the firm should finance these needs.

Complexity academic level

This case is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students in corporate finance electives. Typically, topics such as seasoned equity offerings are not covered in introductory courses, so this is recommended for finance electives. Even in advanced finance courses, sometimes there is insufficient time to cover seasoned equity offerings.

Details

The CASE Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 1544-9106

Keywords

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