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1 – 10 of over 22000Mervi Tuulikki Huhtelin and Suvi Nenonen
The purpose of this paper is to study whether researchers from different disciplines have different requirements for workplaces.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study whether researchers from different disciplines have different requirements for workplaces.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review aimed to understand the academic workplace requirements of different disciplines. The empirical data were gathered by a national survey conducted in Finland. Open-ended questions accumulated answers, which were analysed and clustered.
Findings
The analysis implies that the majority of researchers in all the disciplinary categories required places that support both concentration and interaction. When comparing those researchers who asked for a place that only supports either concentration or interaction, the majority of those working in soft-pure disciplines required spaces to support concentration and those in soft-applied disciplines required spaces to support interaction. Researchers from hard disciplines – both applied and pure – consider places supporting concentration or interaction to be equally important.
Research limitations/implications
The weakness of this study is the generalisability, as this survey was conducted in Finland. The analysis emphasised diversity between disciplines without analysing diversity within disciplines.
Practical implications
Facilities and real estate managers can gain a deeper understanding of the academics’ workplace requirements, which in turn can help them to enhance workplace support of productivity at the same time as cutting real estate costs.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the body of research on academic office design.
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to lay out the conceptual issues arising alongside the rise of sensory technologies in workplaces designed to improve wellness and productivity.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to lay out the conceptual issues arising alongside the rise of sensory technologies in workplaces designed to improve wellness and productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a text based conceptual paper. The authors’ approach is to throw light on some of the emerging issues with the introduction of wearable self-tracking technologies in workplaces.
Findings
The paper indicates that scholars will need to put ethical issues at the heart of research on sensory tracking technologies in workplaces that aim to regulate employee behaviour via wellness initiatives.
Practical implications
The study explores the legal issues around data protection and potential work intensification.
Social implications
Privacy and personal data protection, workplace discipline are discuss in this paper.
Originality/value
This is an original paper. Since there is very little scholarly research in this area, it is important to begin to consider the implications of sensory technology in workplaces linked to wellness initiatives, given the probable impact it will have on work design and appraisal systems.
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This article looks at discipline as a workplace issue, considers what is meant by good industrial relations, and how the effective management of discipline can contribute to…
Abstract
This article looks at discipline as a workplace issue, considers what is meant by good industrial relations, and how the effective management of discipline can contribute to positive workplace relationships. It argues that the punitive, corrective and revisionist models of discipline do not provide a satisfactory explanation of managerial behaviour. It contends that valuable and relevant insights can be provided by McGregor’s classic study on management. Finally, the article considers the value of metaphor as a means of understanding organisational behaviour, and utilises four animal metaphors to describe and prescribe four distinct types of management conduct in disciplinary situations.
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Lata Bajpai Singh and Anita Singh
Human resource management, Employee relations, Strategic human resource management.
Abstract
Subject area
Human resource management, Employee relations, Strategic human resource management.
Study level/applicability
The given case study is to be used by graduate and post-graduate students of Management in the courses of Human Resource Management & Employee Relations. The case may also be used for the discussions on the concepts such as discipline, disciplinary enquiry, grievance settlement procedure, workplace counseling and strategic human resource management.
Case overview
The given case study is hypothetical in nature and meant for academic purpose and classroom teaching. In the given case study, the authors present a grievance settlement mechanism of a banking sector organization. The case study is about a grievance and its settlement of a sales executive in the branch office through the involvement of other senior officials at the workplace. The case study is useful to understand the significance of disciplinary issues, grievance settlement and domestic enquiry and counseling at the workplace.
Expected learning outcomes
The learning objective of the case is to make students understand the significance and various aspects of employee relations at the workplace. It aims at making students familiar with the requirement of discipline, focus on grievance settlement procedure and conducting disciplinary inquiry. The case study further has purpose to make students learn about the importance of counseling and be familiar with steps in counseling for handling real-life situations in their career.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Subject code
CSS 6: Human Resource Management.
Details
Keywords
Miriam Zukas and Janice Malcolm
This paper aims to examine the everyday practices of academic work in social science to understand better academics’ learning. It also asks how academic work is enacted in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the everyday practices of academic work in social science to understand better academics’ learning. It also asks how academic work is enacted in relation to the discipline, department and university, taking temporality as its starting point.
Design/methodology/approach
The study sought to trace academic activities in practice. Within three universities, 14 academics were work-shadowed; social, material, technological, pedagogic and symbolic actors were observed and where possible connections and interactions were traced (including beyond the institution). This paper reports on a subset of the study: the academic practices of four early-career academics in one discipline are analysed.
Findings
Email emerges as a core academic practice and an important pedagogic actor for early career academics in relation to the department and university. Much academic work is “work about the work”, both in and outside official work time. Other pedagogic actors include conferences, networks and external Web identities. Disciplinary work happens outside official work time for the most part and requires time to be available. Disciplinary learning is therefore only afforded to some, resulting in structural disadvantage.
Originality/value
By tracing non-human and human actors, it has emerged that the department and university, rather than the discipline, are most important in composing everyday work practices. A sociomaterial approach enables researchers to better understand the “black box” of everyday academic practice. Such an approach holds the promise of better support for academics in negotiating the demands of discipline, department and university without overwork and systemic exploitation.
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Gabrielle A. Lloyd, Bonnie Amelia Dean, Michelle J. Eady, Conor West, Venkata Yanamandram, Tracey Moroney, Tracey Glover-Chambers and Nuala O'Donnell
Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a strategy that enhances student learning and employability by engaging students in real-world settings, applications and practices. Through WIL…
Abstract
Purpose
Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a strategy that enhances student learning and employability by engaging students in real-world settings, applications and practices. Through WIL, tertiary education institutions forge partnerships with industry to provide students with access to activities that will contribute to their career-readiness and personal growth. The purpose of the paper is to explore academics perceptions of WIL from non-vocational disciplines, where WIL opportunities are less prevalent.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a qualitative, case-study methodology to unpack academics' reflections on the question “What does WIL mean to you?” Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 subject coordinators across a number of non-vocational degrees at one university in Australia. Open coding and thematic analysis was used to explore qualitative data and identify common themes.
Findings
Data suggest that academics largely have placement-based understandings of WIL that cause tensions for embedding WIL meaningfully in their courses. Tensions surface when WIL is perceived as a pedagogy that contributes to the neoliberal agenda that sits in conflict with theoretical approaches and that restrict notions of career.
Originality/value
Although WIL is not relevant in all subjects, these understandings are a useful starting point to introduce WIL meaningfully, in various ways and where appropriate, in order to provide students opportunities for learning and employability development. The paper has implications for faculty, professional learning and institutional strategies concerning WIL for all students.
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This chapter synthesizes two complementary streams in the economic thought of David M. Gordon, and explores their shared relevance to the rise of the “gig” economy in modern…
Abstract
This chapter synthesizes two complementary streams in the economic thought of David M. Gordon, and explores their shared relevance to the rise of the “gig” economy in modern economies. Gordon made lasting contributions to the radical political-economic analysis of work and employment. At the microeconomic level of individual workplaces, he and his collaborators originally explained the factors affecting employers’ labor extraction strategies, through which they seek maximum work effort from waged employees while minimizing unit labor costs. At the macroeconomic or structural level, he linked that conflictual process to the broader institutional and structural features of the overall accumulation regime which is essential to any successful incarnation of capitalism. Employment practices and social structures have evolved considerably since Gordon’s passing, but his insights are still useful in understanding the rise of, and limits to, modern work arrangements. In particular, Gordon’s dual portrayal of the parameters of labor extraction, and their positioning within a broader structural and institutional context, provides a convincing explanation of both the recent rise of gig economy practices, and their potential limits.
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Catherine Warren, Amy Wax, Gino Galvez, Kelly-Anne Van Geffen and Michelle V. Zernick
Current events such as the #metoo and #timesup movements have ushered in an era of heightened awareness of sexist organizational climate. Increasingly, supporters have called for…
Abstract
Purpose
Current events such as the #metoo and #timesup movements have ushered in an era of heightened awareness of sexist organizational climate. Increasingly, supporters have called for top-down changes, demanding that organizations embrace a culture of accountability. Accordingly, the current study proposed and investigated the concept of benevolently sexist organizational climate and explored the impact on women's state self-esteem, while testing for the potential moderating effects of power and gender.
Design/methodology/approach
The current experimental study utilized a video video-based manipulation to introduce benevolently sexist organizational climate with a 2 (content of communication) x 2 (gender of communicator) x 2 (status of communicator) between-subjects design. The hypotheses were tested using an analysis of variance moderation model, based on a sample of 652 women.
Findings
Results indicated a significant two-way interaction between benevolently sexist organizational climate and power on self-esteem. Specifically, results suggested that benevolently sexist organizational climates have a greater negative impact on women's self-esteem when a supervisor communicates the information on the climate as opposed to a coworker.
Practical implications
Benevolently sexist climate had a deleterious impact on women's organizational outcomes especially when communicated by a supervisor. These findings can be used for guidance on the development of training and interventions targeted at mitigating the prevalence of benevolently sexist workplace climate.
Originality/value
This study was the first to propose the concept of a benevolently sexist organizational climate. Additionally, the study demonstrated the negative impact of a benevolently sexist organizational climate on women's state self-esteem providing important implications for organizations. Further theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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This study seeks to explore the incidence and severity of inconsistency in the application of disciplinary measures between supervisors, given the same disciplinary incident…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to explore the incidence and severity of inconsistency in the application of disciplinary measures between supervisors, given the same disciplinary incident. Consistency is an important aspect of procedural fairness in disciplinary action, but it has received little empirical attention.
Design/methodology/approach
Four employee discipline scenarios were assigned at random to 130 real‐life supervisor‐employee dyads, who role‐played the scenario.
Findings
There was little consistency between supervisors in their decisions regarding disciplinary measures. Overall, having an informal discussion with the employee was the most common response. Only when specific instructions to impose a verbal or written warning were provided did most supervisors move beyond an informal discussion. Even when clear instructions were given, a substantial minority applied a less severe disciplinary outcome.
Research limitations/implications
Even in this role‐play situation, where “real life” variables such as union grievances that could lead to the dilution of disciplinary action were not present, supervisors were generally lenient regarding employee discipline.
Practical implications
The trade‐off between the objectives of consistency and consideration of individual circumstances presents a serious challenge to practising supervisors.
Originality/value
This is a rare empirical paper exploring the issue of consistency in employee discipline.
Details
Keywords
Laurie A. Rudman and Julie E. Phelan
Early research on sexism presumed the traditional model of prejudice as an antipathy. This research focused on negative stereotypes of women as less competent than men and…
Abstract
Early research on sexism presumed the traditional model of prejudice as an antipathy. This research focused on negative stereotypes of women as less competent than men and hostility toward gender equality. More recently, sexism has been revealed to have a “benevolent” component; although it reflects positive beliefs about women, it also supports gender inequality by implying that women are weaker than men. In addition, although disconfirming stereotypes should provide women with a means of thwarting sex discrimination, recent research shows that even ambitious and successful women are punished for violating prescriptive stereotypes that assign them to subordinate roles.