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This study aims to determine how cognitive diversity at the workplace influences team creativity. In this regard, the authors examined knowledge sharing and team-focused inclusion through which team members’ cognitive diversity was expected to elevate their positive work outcomes.

A quantitative method is used to accumulate the data. The authors surveyed workers and their respective managers at a single China-based food company. The supervisors rated the outcome variables (creativity and team effectiveness) regarding their employees, whereas employees were asked to rate the cognitive diversity, inclusion and knowledge sharing within the workgroup. The final valid sample size (n = 391) consisted of 137 workgroups with an adequate response rate (62.3%).

Cognitive diversity is related to team effectiveness but not creativity. The research found that cognitive diversity can increase creativity only through enhanced inclusion and knowledge sharing. Inclusion, likewise, explained the impact of cognitive diversity on effectiveness.

The originality of the current research lies in its contemporary exploration of inclusion and cognitive diversity and their pathways to team creativity and effectiveness. The social capital theory was applied to explain the proposed relationships.

Most education systems were not initially designed to include students with disabilities. However, over the past 25 years, great strives have been taken to ensure students with disabilities have access to the general education classroom and to important social, emotional and academic opportunities. Within the USA, researchers have begun to focus on the principal's role in creating and sustaining effective inclusive schools. The purpose of this article is to examine the leadership practices and perceptions associated with creating effective inclusive schools for students with disabilities.

This qualitative study examined how two elementary school principals created an effective inclusive school and how they understood the challenges and change processes associated with inclusion. Each principal was interviewed and observed four times over one school year. Teachers and district administrators were also interviewed to gain insights into the school's progress with inclusion and to verify principals’ interview data.

This study added to existing research by identifying the following leadership practices critical to creating effective inclusive schools: (1) creating a culture of change-oriented collaboration, (2) planning and evaluating, (3) building capacity and (4) developing/revising plans. The principals felt that these practices enabled inclusion to take root, despite challenges and the chaotic nature of life in schools. A total of three additional themes emerged related to how principals understood change processes and challenges associated with inclusion: collaborative inquiry, information flow and crises/distractions/fatigue.

Several key leadership practices were identified in this study, including practices associated to systems thinking (ST). These practices hold promise and might be applied to thoughtfully design inclusive reforms. Faculty in principal preparation programs might also consider exposing aspiring leaders to the literature on leadership for effective inclusive schools as well as systems thinking.

The paper identifies the leadership practices of two principals who created effective inclusive schools. The paper is unique as it applies a ST lens to the investigation of leadership for inclusion.

Leaders face a unique opportunity to rethink the workplace in a post-pandemic environment. Virtual work demands and unclear messaging from senior leadership has created burnout and frustration. Reverting to traditional organizational structures and policies fails to recognize and leverage the potential to capitalizing on the momentum to change the nature of work. Creating a hybrid work environment by delegating the design process to teams and giving team leaders the tools and skills necessary to be successful leverages the transition to the future workplace.

We worked with a knowledge-based organization to transition employees to a hybrid team environment.

We offer the diverse approaches organizations are taking in a post-pandemic workplace and the challenges facing leaders reverting to the traditional work environment. Focusing on the future of work in a hybrid environment, we provide an approach enabling team leaders and team members to be the arbiters of their work environment.

Our multistep process allows team leaders to quickly adapt and implement effective hybrid teamwork.

We propose a multistep process for team leaders to leverage the transition to improve high-performing teams in a hybrid workplace.

Organizations increasingly use inclusion initiatives to reflect a meaningful involvement of their entire workforce as part of their larger diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies. However, the conceptualization of inclusion and its impact on larger DEI efforts and the organization remains unclear, coupled with the organizations’ struggles to find ways to embrace and advance inclusion. Hence, the purpose of this study is to synthesize ways of inclusion conceptualizations and review empirical evidence related to inclusion.

The authors conducted a literature review using the method of scoping review coupled with topical cluster mapping techniques.

The authors captured three ways of inclusion conceptualizations and provided an overview of topic clusters related to inclusion and its measurement tools. The authors also proposed a path model of inclusion based on emerging empirical evidence related to inclusion in the workplace.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the pioneering efforts to provide a much-needed review of inclusion in the workplace, which provides guidance for further research and practice to fulfill the goal of inclusion for all in the current workplace.

The aim of this study is to examine leadership development programs in the context of diversity and inclusion and from the perspective of their owners.

The core of the qualitative study was the 26 in-depth interviews that were conducted. The participants were selected purposefully. The data analysis was based on reflexive thematic analysis.

The analysis resulted in three themes. (1) “Policy” encompasses thoughts and an understanding of common diversity activities at the organizational level. Anti-discrimination, diversity, inclusion, tolerance, equality, cognition, acceptance and equal opportunity were factors in this narrative. (2) “Inclusion in the role” deals with the perception of diversity in terms of program recruitment. In this context, inclusion is defined by socially acceptable criteria of non-exclusion. (3) “Leadership development” represents the justification for addressing diversity and diversity activities. The findings suggest that the perception of an organization as homogeneous provides an argument for not addressing the diversity connoted with problems and inequities.

Qualitative research does not aim to generalize but to identify conceptual threads. Only the perspective of LDPs' managers was adopted. The selection of the purposive sample was guided by the criterion of active management of LDPs, to obtain as much information as possible about nurturing leaders.

The research findings expand knowledge on the perception of the role of diversity and indicate the benefits of diversity discussed in leadership training interventions. The study may become a starting point for capitalizing on leadership development in sustainable development.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the need for services catering for older deafblind people in Northern Ireland (NI) and how Deafblind UK is responding, supported by funding from the Big Lottery Fund.

This paper is designed to provide an overview of deafblindness in NI. Supported by research and case studies, it explains the current situation, highlights the issues of this disability, the unique response required and how Deafblind UK's Connections NI project is meeting these needs.

Older deafblind people are a highly vulnerable group yet there was a severe lack of services in the region catering for their specific needs. Based on work elsewhere in the UK and initial feedback, Deafblind UK's Connections NI project has been designed to support older deafblind people in the region to give them control over their life choices and retain independence as far as possible.

The project was only launched in April 2013 so although results have been achieved by Deafblind UK elsewhere in the country, it could take some time for similar results to be seen in NI, particularly when considering the nature of the work.

Deafblind UK will work alongside agencies and in the community to raise awareness of deafblindness, helping to create clearer classification of the disability and associated issues, and deliver more targeted services that reach a higher proportion of older deafblind people in the region.

This paper highlights the lack of services for older deafblind people in NI and how Deafblind UK is uniquely meeting these needs.

Self-determination theory (SDT), offers a theoretical framework for enhancing employee motivation and stimulating positive outcomes such as commitment, well-being and engagement, in organizations. This paper aims to investigate the application of SDT among leaders and delineate practical managerial approaches for supporting basic psychological needs in the workplace.

Participants were 51 leaders who had personally applied SDT with their own followers. Data were collected via free-listing method and analysed to extrapolate examples of SDT-application that are both practically salient and aligned to theoretic tenets of SDT.

The findings reveal how SDT is operationalized by leaders to support basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness in the workplace. The SDT-informed management strategies are discussed in relation to the literature and alongside case scenarios to illustrate approaches for integrating elements of SDT into day-to-day management activities.

Despite extensive literature support for SDT, very little empirical attention has been paid to examining how the theory is applied, interpreted and/or used by practitioners in real world settings. This research is the first to draw on the lived-experience of practitioners who have applied SDT, contributes previously unexplored strategies for supporting workers’ basic psychological needs and responds to calls for SDT research to identify a broader range of managerial behaviours that support employee motivation.

The Netherlands' national government (Rijksoverheid) is an example of a large public organization that strives to recruit and retain employees from different cultural groups, and aims to reap the benefits of workplace diversity. Research has shown that a major predictor of the effectiveness of diversity policy and interventions is the diversity perspective of employees, i.e. which outcomes they associate with cultural diversity in their work environment.

The present study compares public servants' diversity perspectives in two similar independent samples, from 2008 (n = 1,617) and 2018 (n = 2,024), using the Benefits and Threats of Diversity Scale (BTDS; Hofhuis et al., 2015).

Results show that in 2018, employees of the Netherlands' national government perceived more benefits of diversity for gaining insight about and access to different groups within society. Additionally, contributions of cultural diversity to creativity and innovation within teams are reported significantly more often in 2018 than in 2008.

The findings may be of interest to diversity scholars, since data on changes in cultural diversity perspectives across time are rare, and the paper provides a unique comparison of measurements at two time points, one decade apart, within the same organization.

The paper aims to address the question, “What is the impact of web-based video via webcams on virtual team trust and effectiveness?” Change and evolution in team perceptions over time are described. The result is the creation of a theoretical model describing the effect of webcams on virtual team development.

A qualitative phenomenological heuristic case study was used to explore the individual expectations and experiences of the team members over a six-week period. To strengthen reliability and validity, two qualitative methods, content analysis and constant comparative analysis — a means of grounded theory, were used to both test the historic basis of the existing literature on trust and effectiveness in virtual teams and to explore how the use of webcams influenced the work, interactions and effectiveness of a virtual team. Both qualitative methods involved different pairs of researchers using inter-rater coefficients to address coding reliability and validity. Results from the two methods were then compared and contrasted.

The resulting model highlights the importance of ongoing, formal differentiated training on new technology. This research also suggests careful management of technology change and its deployment to enhance outcomes of various organization forms.

Given the nature of the qualitative study, the findings are not generalizable, but may illumine the understanding of webcams and technology adaptation in similar virtual teams.

The resulting model highlights the importance of ongoing, formal differentiated training on new technology. This research also suggests careful management of technology change and its deployment to enhance outcomes of various organization forms. The study incorporates Technology Acceptance Theory and applications of the Kirton Adaptation-Innovation Inventory.

With the increase in bandwidth on the Internet, technologies such as webcams have become more viable for use in virtual teams.

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study into demand management practices in a trading organisation. It aims to bring together a number of key principles, including forecasting, promotions management and power, and examine how they impact the operations of the organisation. On the basis of its findings, the paper also aims to propose a framework for efficient use of forecasting resources.

A single case study approach was used. Iteratively designed semi‐structured interviews with different departments were used to identify the key challenges facing the organisation. Data analysis was then used to confirm some of the issues and identify emerging issues in the industry.

Intermediary trading organisations in the UK food industry occupy a vulnerable position in their supply chains. For promotional products, in particular, the supply chains are characterised by unmatchable upstream‐downstream lead times and little flexibility in demand and supply requirements. Furthermore, consumers may be getting used to buying certain products only when they are on promotion.

Trading organisations suffer disproportionately from the inefficiencies of their supply chain and, consequently, need to take a leading role in co‐ordinating and synchronising supply chain activities. They also need to understand their supply chain positioning, relative power and the factors that are beyond their control.

The demand management operations and challenges of intermediary food traders have not previously been studied in great depth. The paper provides new knowledge and further contributes to academic thinking by proposing a forecasting framework.