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1 – 10 of 201Kaylee J. Hackney and Pamela L. Perrewé
Research examining the experiences of women in the workplace has, to a large extent, neglected the unique stressors pregnant employees may experience. Stress during pregnancy has…
Abstract
Research examining the experiences of women in the workplace has, to a large extent, neglected the unique stressors pregnant employees may experience. Stress during pregnancy has been shown consistently to lead to detrimental consequences for the mother and her baby. Using job stress theories, we develop an expanded theoretical model of experienced stress during pregnancy and the potential detrimental health outcomes for the mother and her baby. Our theoretical model includes factors from multiple levels (i.e., individual, interpersonal, sociocultural, and community) and the role they play on the health and well-being of the pregnant employee and her baby. In order to gain a deeper understanding of job stress during pregnancy, we examine three pregnancy-specific organizational stressors (i.e., perceived pregnancy discrimination, pregnancy disclosure, and identity-role conflict) that are unique to pregnant employees. These stressors are argued to be over and above the normal job stressors experienced and they are proposed to result in elevated levels of experienced stress leading to detrimental health outcomes for the mother and baby. The role of resilience resources and learning in reducing some of the negative outcomes from job stressors is also explored.
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This research identifies human resource (HR) management challenges and associated solutions of a medium-sized organization that reached a critical threshold of employees and…
Abstract
Purpose
This research identifies human resource (HR) management challenges and associated solutions of a medium-sized organization that reached a critical threshold of employees and required formalized HR systems. HR solutions focused on using labour efficiently, linking pay to performance and motivating or rewarding desired employee behaviour are identified.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study involved HR data analysis and 50 semi-structured interviews (SSIs) over 4 successive phases: HR audit, problem identification and job description validation, solutions analysis and feedback on outcomes. Additionally, HR files and schedules were reviewed to determine labour usage, organizational structure and compensation.
Findings
HR problems and solutions associated with job analysis (e.g. role identity, role conflict), HR planning (e.g. scheduling, motivation), employee performance management (e.g. validity, employee empowerment) and compensation (e.g. inequity, turnover intentions) issues are clearly identified.
Research limitations/implications
Traditionally, HR theory or concepts are presented in a limited or isolated manner. However, this research provides an integrative assessment of numerous interrelated, complex, core HR concepts including role conflict, equity, employee empowerment, motivation, consensus building, accountability, change champions, communication and coaching.
Practical implications
This multi-phased, multi-stakeholder approach to small and medium enterprise (SME) management informs organizational leaders about HR problems and solutions they may encounter as they grow and require formalized HR systems. The proposed solutions can help safeguard organizational survival.
Originality/value
This research bridges HR theory with HR practices focusing specifically on SMEs. In addition, SMEs can benefit from the HR process information presented to conduct similar evidence-based HR problem and solution assessments.
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To examine the direct effects of work domain variables on family‐to‐work conflict (FWC), beyond their indirect effects via the mediating variable of work‐to‐family conflict (WFC)…
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the direct effects of work domain variables on family‐to‐work conflict (FWC), beyond their indirect effects via the mediating variable of work‐to‐family conflict (WFC), and sex differences in the effects of work role expectations and supervisor support on FWC.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted among 208 UK public sector employees. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis tested main and moderating effects of work domain variables and sex on FWC. To test for mediation, the procedure recommended by Baron and Kenny was used.
Findings
Work domain variables had a significant effect on FWC above and beyond the effects of family domain variables, and independent of WFC. The relationship between work role expectations and FWC was found to be significantly stronger for men than for women.
Research limitations/implications
The cross‐sectional design of the study does not permit firm conclusions regarding causality, and the results may be influenced by common method bias.
Practical implications
In the face of evidence that organizations are causing the very phenomenon that hurts them, the responsibility to assist employees with reducing FWC is enhanced. Particularly for men, management of organizational expectations to work long hours and prioritize work over family is an area in which employers can and should play a key role if gender equity with regard to organizational work‐family climate is to be established.
Originality/value
This study indicates that organizational work demands may have more influence over the degree to which employees’ family lives interfere with their work than has previously been assumed, especially for men.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore what female business owners hide to better understand social norms and discourses that influence the decisions women make about how they…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore what female business owners hide to better understand social norms and discourses that influence the decisions women make about how they structure their home and work lives.
Design/methodology/approach
The author used qualitative interviews to access the narratives of female business owners in public relations within the USA. This industry segment attracts primarily women and, unlike a retail store, offers women a variety of ways to structure their business hours and locations.
Findings
Women use hiding as a way to manage others’ impressions and as a way to gain legitimacy for themselves and their organizations. Specifically, the findings fall into three categories: hiding childcare obligations, obscuring their work locations and “fake it until you make it”. Hiding is used a strategy to deal with tensions that arise based on women’s interpretations of social norms and discourses.
Research limitations/implications
Based on the finite nature of any study, it is difficult to assess the long-term impact of hiding. Further, as with many studies, the geographic location, gender and industry segment provide a context for this research, which means the reader must determine the transferability.
Originality/value
Few studies explore hiding as a means to gain access to gendered discourses that can undermine identity construction and business growth. By uncovering what female business owners hide, it provides opportunities for self-awareness and agency.
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This chapter reports on the interaction dynamics of a workplace exercise group for beginners. Dramaturgical stress occurred here as individuals who already knew each other as…
Abstract
This chapter reports on the interaction dynamics of a workplace exercise group for beginners. Dramaturgical stress occurred here as individuals who already knew each other as competent colleagues felt embarrassed about encountering one another in this low ability exercise group. To resolve this role conflict, participants sought to define themselves as familiar strangers (which they were not) through minimal interaction in non-binding relationships. This was achieved through three types of facework strategy: not only the defensive and protective kinds that Goffman identified as saving individual faces, but also collective strategies, which sought to repair the face of the whole group. Paradoxically, therefore, in attempting to deny their “groupness,” these actors actually displayed and reinforced their solidarity as a performance team.
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Megan S. Downing, Nana Arthur-Mensah and Jeffrey Zimmerman
The impostor phenomenon (IP) is a psychological cycle experienced by individuals who, despite successes, are plagued by self-doubt and a concern of being identified as fraudulent…
Abstract
Purpose
The impostor phenomenon (IP) is a psychological cycle experienced by individuals who, despite successes, are plagued by self-doubt and a concern of being identified as fraudulent. IP research is typically focused on the psychological well-being of those who experience IP, examining antecedents and outcomes of IP. Research on organizational impact is limited with few studies examining IP’s influence on leadership practices. The purpose of this paper is to discuss IP and explore the value of mitigating IP’s negative effects with a view to developing a conceptual model that illustrates IP in context with leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a scoping literature review methodology, this paper draws on identity theory to explore and discuss the relevance of IP to organizations and leadership practice.
Findings
Following a review of relevant literature, the authors propose a conceptual model that illustrates IP’s impact on organizational leaders’ capacity to practice leadership due to conflicting identity standards and diminished self-efficacy. Implications for organizational leadership development as well as leadership practice, theory, and research are discussed.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is a theoretical analysis, not an empirical study, however, it presents a conceptual model that provides perspective on IP and its relevance to leadership as well as the organizational value of and suggestions for mitigating IP.
Originality/value
A greater understanding of IP and IP’s potential consequences on leadership in the workplace may contribute to organizational interventions that mitigate IP's impact on leaders and the organizations they serve.
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The major purpose is to provide a philosophic basis for the study and practice of educational administration. An explicit assumption is that logical, propositional thought is a…
Abstract
The major purpose is to provide a philosophic basis for the study and practice of educational administration. An explicit assumption is that logical, propositional thought is a desirable prelude to action. Reason, which is defined as an organic harmony of impulses, is related to administration via three levels of discourse: 1) philosophic values (WHY), 2) hypothetico‐deductive theory (HOW), and 3) observed behavior (WHAT). The first level is defined by the discursive thought of the moral philosopher Santayana. His definition of rational ethics provides a foundation for administrative‐organizational theory in general, and the concept of bureaucracy in particular. The second level includes Weber's pure‐type structural model that has rationality as its dominant characteristic. The third level, administrative practice, or praxeology, is portrayed as a derivative of rational thought. Current approaches, including systems analysis and program budgeting, are rooted in the union of the logic of Santayana's ethics and Weber's structural model for human groupings.
Allan Discua Cruz, Jose Mario Reyes Hernandez and Carlos Roberto Arias Arévalo
This study aims to focus on understanding the tensions experienced by government officials in introducing electronic government (e-government) policies to support entrepreneurs in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on understanding the tensions experienced by government officials in introducing electronic government (e-government) policies to support entrepreneurs in a developing Latin American country.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on an in-depth qualitative approach based on collaborative and analytic auto-ethnography. The authors concentrate on tensions experienced by a government official and how they were addressed when introducing e-government policies to support entrepreneurs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Findings
The findings reveal that paradoxical tensions occur as changes are demanded, multiple concerns are expressed and decisions about resources have to be made. The findings reveal sources of tensions from government, business and external sources. Addressing such tensions revolves around a diverse form of paradoxes dealing with contradictions in terms of speed vs thoroughness and short- vs long-term implications.
Research limitations/implications
The authors’ study provides several contributions. It advances understanding on the source and management of tensions experienced by government officials introducing e-government policies to support entrepreneurs during the Covid-19 pandemic. It also delineates multiple paradoxes experienced by government officials as new policies and systems were introduced. Finally, it offers a conceptual model explaining how government officials deal with multiple tensions emerging from the introduction of e-government policies in a developing country.
Originality/value
The prior literature has suggested that e-government initiatives would be guided by a prescriptive and tension-free process, driven by the interest to enhance governmental efficiency. This study reveals that developing e-government initiatives for entrepreneurs and existing businesses during the Covid-19 crisis was not immune to contradictions between government officials and the public. A conceptual model, based on multiple sources of tensions (government-related, business-related and external sources) and their management, is proposed. Implications and opportunities for further research are presented.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the identity-related work experiences of women in leadership in the US automotive industry. Drawing upon the communication theory of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the identity-related work experiences of women in leadership in the US automotive industry. Drawing upon the communication theory of identity’s four identity frames, this study analyzes women’s narratives to better understand their self-concepts, work relationships and activities within larger corporate automotive contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology consisting of 16 in-depth interviews with women in leadership in automotive organizations was adopted. Interviews examined women’s perceptions and identities at work, including their daily behaviors, relationships with others and their perceptions of the larger automotive community.
Findings
Findings demonstrate that women in leadership in the automotive industry experience contradictory feelings, messages and interactions that impact their identity perceptions and expectations for performance and achievement in their work settings.
Practical implications
The experiences of women in leadership in US automotive organizations could provide examples of identity-related topics valuable to practitioner fields where women seek relevant, gender-specific, guidance, resources and strategies to advance in their careers.
Social implications
The findings in this study raise awareness about some of the social issues women in leadership face in automotive corporations, including complex identity-related challenges present in their workplaces.
Originality/value
This paper is the first of its type to examine the narratives of women’s career life in leadership in automotive organizations through a communication theory of identity lens. It extends knowledge about female leaders as they navigate the dissonant worlds of achieving higher positions whilst holding membership in a marginalized group.
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