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1 – 10 of 22Jamal A. Nazari, Irene M. Herremans, Robert G. Isaac, Armond Manassian and Theresa J.B. Kline
This study aims to empirically investigate the role of organizational culture and climate in supporting intellectual capital (IC) management systems. Specifically, it seeks to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically investigate the role of organizational culture and climate in supporting intellectual capital (IC) management systems. Specifically, it seeks to investigate the relationship between organizational characteristics (culture and climate) and IC management systems in the Middle East (Iran and Lebanon) and Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered via a survey instrument and statistical analysis was used to test for significance between dependent and independent variables. Then a two‐stage hierarchical multiple regression was used to test for the nature and effects of country of origin as a moderating variable.
Findings
The findings suggest that both culture and climate play significant roles in developing management systems for IC. In addition, for country, when organizational climate improves, Middle Eastern respondents perceived an even greater improvement in IC management systems compared to their Canadian counterparts.
Originality/value
There is limited research that has been undertaken to compare developed and developing countries with regard to the influence of organizational characteristics on IC management systems. This research is timely given the recent publication of the Arab Human Development Report and the Arab Knowledge Report. This study provides insight into the ability of organizations in the Middle East to develop a knowledge base and reduce the knowledge gap between the Arab world and countries currently classified as knowledge intensive.
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Hal J. Whiting, Theresa J.B. Kline and Lorne M. Sulsky
The purpose of this paper is to construct an instrument to assess employee‐perceived performance appraisal congruency and then to use the scale to predict employee attitudes about…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to construct an instrument to assess employee‐perceived performance appraisal congruency and then to use the scale to predict employee attitudes about their performance appraisal systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The scale was developed using 28 subject‐matter experts and researcher knowledge of the extant literature. The scale was then completed by a sample of 135 individuals using internet administration.
Findings
Regression analyses showed that performance appraisal congruency predicted overall system satisfaction, perceived usefulness and fairness. Supplementary analyses of the performance appraisal congruency items were conducted so as to refine the original instrument for future research.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the study include: the interviews conducted to develop the instrument were conducted in a single organization; the study used an internet sample that was made up of university alumni; all measures were self‐report; and single item measures were used as the criterion variables. The findings support the utility of the use of the P‐E fit model in performance management systems. Future research should assess outcomes that would be of interest to organizations, such as the relationships with performance system satisfaction and employee commitment and turnover.
Practical implications
If employees perceive that the performance appraisal system is congruent with their expectations, then positive outcomes should be expected.
Originality/value
While congruency has been linked to important outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and actual turnover, it has not been used within a performance appraisal framework.
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Shauna L. Meyerson and Theresa J.B. Kline
The aims of this paper are to clarify empowerment as a construct, assess whether environmental and psychological empowerment differentially predicts job outcomes, and investigate…
Abstract
Purpose
The aims of this paper are to clarify empowerment as a construct, assess whether environmental and psychological empowerment differentially predicts job outcomes, and investigate the effects of transformation and transactional leadership on empowerment.
Design/methodology/approach
University students (n=197) rated leadership and empowerment in their workplaces and a number of job outcomes using an on‐line questionnaire.
Findings
Results supported the proposition that empowerment should be separated into its behavioral and psychological components. The dimensions of empowerment also differentially predicted job outcomes. In particular, environmental empowerment was better at predicting outcomes than was psychological empowerment. It was also found that transformational and transactional leadership predicted environmental empowerment more strongly than psychological empowerment.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include that the study was cross‐sectional, used a student sample, and a single common method for collecting the data. The primary implication for research is that empowerment should be separated into two constructs, environmental and psychological.
Practical implications
Practical implications include that environmental empowerment has more predictive power than does psychological empowerment on workplace outcomes and that leadership has a stronger impact on environmental than psychological empowerment.
Originality/value
This study is the first to call into question the way empowerment has been measured in prior studies and provides useful directions with which to pursue future research in this area.
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Robert G. Isaac, Irene M. Herremans and Theresa J.B. Kline
The management of intellectual capital (IC) within organizations depends on appropriate organizational structures and characteristics. This paper seeks to argue that certain…
Abstract
Purpose
The management of intellectual capital (IC) within organizations depends on appropriate organizational structures and characteristics. This paper seeks to argue that certain structural, cultural, and climate characteristics will lead to more effective IC management.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the theoretical and empirical IC literature, as well as the literatures regarding organic environments, trust, participative decision making, and creative renewal processes, to develop a model relating to the antecedent conditions necessary for the management of IC.
Findings
The model developed will assist researchers in the identification and exploration of variables linked to the effective management of IC within organizations.
Practical implications
It is concluded that managers of organizations need to create organic structures, build trust with employees, encourage creative renewal, and develop participative decision‐making processes.
Originality/value
By integrating several fields of the literature that relate to IC management, the paper suggests propositions that deserve future research consideration.
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Gary W. Ivey and Theresa J.B. Kline
This study seeks to examine the manifestation and effects of transformational, contingent reward, and active management‐by‐exception leadership across ranks in the Canadian…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine the manifestation and effects of transformational, contingent reward, and active management‐by‐exception leadership across ranks in the Canadian military. It also aims to investigate whether or not the relationships between perceived leadership behaviors and effective leadership outcomes are moderated by hierarchical level and followers' expectations.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 704 military officers and enlisted members rated their leaders' behaviors and the behaviors they expect of their leaders.
Findings
Frequency of transformational leadership behaviors increased with rank, but frequencies of perceived and expected contingent reward and active management‐by‐exception leadership behaviors did not. Transformational and contingent reward leadership effects were not moderated by rank or by followers' expectations. The effects of perceived active management‐by‐exception leadership were moderated by followers' expectations.
Research limitations/implications
When followers do not expect active management‐by‐exception from their supervisors, based on their own implicit beliefs about the types of behaviors their leaders should be exhibiting, but they are subjected to it, their job satisfaction and their attitudes toward their supervisors may be negatively affected.
Practical implications
Transformational leadership is prevalent, expected, and effective at all hierarchical levels. Because of their positive impact on followers' job satisfaction and their attitudes toward their supervisors, the Canadian military should continue to encourage transformational leadership and contingent reward leadership behaviors at all hierarchical levels.
Originality/value
The study highlights the potential importance of congruence between the expectations followers have of their leaders and followers' perceptions of their leaders' actual behaviors.
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John H. Bickford III and Cynthia W. Rich
Common Core State Standards Initiative mandates increased readings of informational texts within English Language Arts starting in elementary school. Accurate, age-appropriate…
Abstract
Common Core State Standards Initiative mandates increased readings of informational texts within English Language Arts starting in elementary school. Accurate, age-appropriate, and engaging content is at the center of effective social studies teaching. Textbooks and children’s literature—both literary and informational—are prominent in elementary classrooms because of the esoteric nature of primary source material. Many research projects have investigated historical accuracy and representation within textbooks, but few have done so with children’s trade books. We examined children’s trade books centered on three historical figures frequently incorporated within elementary school curricula: Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, and Helen Keller. Findings revealed various forms of historical misrepresentation and differing levels of historicity. Reporting such lacunae is important for those involved in curricular decisions. We believe children’s books, even those with historical omissions and misrepresentations, provide an unique opportunity for students to incorporate and scrutinize diverse perspectives as they actively assemble historical understandings. All secondary narratives, even historically representative children’s books, can benefit from primary source supplementation. We guide teachers interested in employing relevant and rich primary source material.
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Aleem Bharwani, Theresa Kline, Margaret Patterson and Peter Craighead
This study sought to identify the barriers and enablers to leadership enactment in academic health-care settings.
Abstract
Purpose
This study sought to identify the barriers and enablers to leadership enactment in academic health-care settings.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews (n = 77) with programme stakeholders (medical school trainees, university leaders, clinical leaders, medical scientists and directors external to the medical school) were conducted, and the responses content-analysed.
Findings
Both contextual and individual factors were identified as playing a role in affecting academic health leadership enactment that has an impact on programme development, success and maintenance. Contextual factors included sufficient resources allocated to the programme, opportunities for learners to practise leadership skills, a competent team around the leader once that person is in place, clear expectations for the leader and a culture that fosters open communication. Contextual barriers included highly bureaucratic structures, fear-of-failure and non-trusting cultures and inappropriate performance systems. Programmes were advised to select participants based on self-awareness, strong communication skills and an innovative thinking style. Filling specific knowledge and skill gaps, particularly for those not trained in medical school, was viewed as essential. Ineffective decision-making styles and tendencies to get involved in day-to-day activities were barriers to the development of academic health leaders.
Originality/value
Programmes designed to develop academic health-care leaders will be most effective if they develop leadership at all levels; ensure that the organisation’s culture, structure and processes reinforce positive leadership practices; and recognise the critical role of teams in supporting its leaders.
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As maternal mortality increases in the United States, birth providers and policymakers are seeking new solutions to address what scholars have called the “C-section epidemic.”…
Abstract
As maternal mortality increases in the United States, birth providers and policymakers are seeking new solutions to address what scholars have called the “C-section epidemic.” Hospital cesarean rates vary tremendously, from 7 to 70 percent of all births. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 47 obstetricians and family physicians in the United States, I explore one reason for this variation: differences in how physicians perceive and manage risk in American obstetrics. While the dominant model of risk management encourages high levels of intervention and monitoring, I argue that a significant portion of physicians are concerned about high intervention rates in childbirth and are working to reduce cesarean rates and/or the use of monitoring technologies like continuous fetal heart rate monitors. Unlike prior theories of biomedicalization, which suggest that health risks are managed through increased monitoring and intervention, I find that many physicians are resisting this model of risk management by ordering fewer interventions and collecting less information about their patients. These providers acknowledge that interventions designed to mitigate risks may only provide an illusion of control, rather than an actual mastery of risks. By limiting interventions, providers may lose this illusion of control but also mitigate the iatrogenic effects of intervention and continuous monitoring. This alternative approach to risk management is growing in many medical fields and deserves more attention from medical sociologists.
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Eun-Jee Kim, Sunyoung Park and Hye-Seung (Theresa) Kang
The purpose of this study is to augment knowledge of how work environment and personal characteristics affect intention to transfer in a work context. This study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to augment knowledge of how work environment and personal characteristics affect intention to transfer in a work context. This study aims to investigate the factors that can influence intention to transfer training in a professional development training context. The study examined the predictive capacity of organizational support, supervisor support, training readiness and learning motivation on transfer intention among the study respondents.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from teachers in secondary schools in the USA. The structural equation modeling method was adopted to analyze 216 responses using a self-report survey.
Findings
We found that (a) organizational support was directly associated with supervisor support for training, (b) supervisor support for training significantly influenced training readiness and motivation to learn, (c) training readiness positively affected motivation to learn, and (d) motivation to learn positively influenced intention to transfer. In addition, supervisor support mediated the relationships between organizational support and training readiness and between organizational support and motivation to learn. Training readiness linked intention to transfer and motivation to learn. Motivation to learn also played a mediating role in the relationship between supervisor support and intention to transfer.
Originality/value
Our findings add to the academic work on training transfer by empirically analyzing how both the environment (e.g. organizational support) and individual factors (e.g. learning motivation) influence employees’ intention to transfer. In particular, we investigated the potential impact of both organizational support and supervisory support on intentions to transfer, compared to previous studies emphasizing only supervisory support to improve training outcomes.
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Hazel Kyrk, one of the first women economists at the Economic Department of the University of Chicago and author of A Theory of Consumption (1923), conducted groundbreaking…
Abstract
Hazel Kyrk, one of the first women economists at the Economic Department of the University of Chicago and author of A Theory of Consumption (1923), conducted groundbreaking research for the Bureau of Home Economics of the US Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kyrk made a considerable contribution to the development of standards for a “decent living,” the Consumer Price Index, and the conceptualization of what would later turn into the definition of the poverty line. This chapter evaluates Kyrk’s use of eugenic notions of gender and race that were widely used in Kyrk’s day. This chapter shows that eugenic reasoning impacts Kyrk’s theoretical work only superficially but does structure her research on consumption standards through her focus on the white middle-class family as the unit of analysis for consumer behavior. This chapter also makes clear that the American Institutionalist approach to consumer behavior, rather than marginalized and side-tracked due to a lack of theoretical progress, was relegated to the margins of economics science together with the research of women economists into Home Economics departments and policy research at government institutions.
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