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Article
Publication date: 29 September 2023

Gordon Mwintome, Joseph Akadeagre Agana and Stephen Zamore

The authors examine the association between two important audit partner characteristics and the readability of key audit matters (KAMs) disclosed in the audit reports…

Abstract

Purpose

The authors examine the association between two important audit partner characteristics and the readability of key audit matters (KAMs) disclosed in the audit reports. Specifically, the authors examine how the readability of KAMs is associated with audit partner tenure and workload.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct the study in the audit context of Norway and applied the Flesch reading ease scale to measure the readability levels of reported KAMs in the audit reports of companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Panel data estimation techniques are applied in estimating how partner tenure and workload are associated with the readability of KAMs. In addition, several robustness tests including different measures of KAMs readability and subsample analyses are performed.

Findings

The authors find that audit partner tenure and workload have significant associations with the level of KAMs readability. Specifically, the results show that the reported KAMs become more readable as the audit partner tenure increases but are less readable for partners with more workload. These results appear stronger in subsamples of KAMs typically noted to be more complex and associated with higher risks.

Research limitations/implications

As KAMs represent the most significant issues in financial statements audit, these results provide important insights to stakeholders on the potential impact of audit partner tenure and workload on KAMs readability. Less readable KAMs could derail stakeholders' desire to bridge the information gap between auditors and users of the audit report. The uniqueness of this study lies in its focus on audit partner characteristics as opposed to the audit firm.

Practical implications

Excessive audit partner workload impairs KAMs readability.

Originality/value

As KAMs represent the most significant issues in financial statements audit, these results provide important insights to stakeholders on the potential impact of audit partner tenure and workload on KAMs readability. Less readable KAMs could derail stakeholders' desire to bridge the information gap between auditors and users of the audit report. The uniqueness of this study lies in its focus on audit partner characteristics as opposed to the audit firm.

Details

Journal of Applied Accounting Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-5426

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 October 2022

Tehreem Fatima, Ahmad Raza Bilal, Muhammad Waqas and Muhammad Kashif Imran

A paradigm shift toward a corporate model of higher educational settings has led to complex and excess work demands, yet the potential long-run ramifications of work overload are…

394

Abstract

Purpose

A paradigm shift toward a corporate model of higher educational settings has led to complex and excess work demands, yet the potential long-run ramifications of work overload are still under-examined. Building the arguments on the “spiral of resource loss” corollary of the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the authors have bridged this gap by testing how work overload spills over into career resilience via reduced harmonious passion. In addition, the authors compare how the employees having standardized workloads differ in their harmonious passion and career resilience from those having excessive (non-standardized) workloads.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a longitudinal natural field experiment of 402 faculty members [N = 198 in the standardized group (optimal load) and N = 204 in the non-standardized group (overload)] working in higher educational institutions of Pakistan, data were collected in three waves (each six months apart). The group comparison, trend analysis and longitudinal mediation analysis done through SPSS and MPlus affirmed the hypothesized associations.

Findings

The results have shown that work overload impacts career resilience through the mediating role of harmonious passion. The faculty members in the standardized workload had more passion and career resilience as compared to the non-standardized workload group. In addition, these impacts intensified overtime for the overloaded faculty members while faculty members with optimal workload sustained their passion and resilience for the teaching profession.

Originality/value

Taking the COR perspective, this study sheds light on how faculty members' work overloads reduce their capability to retain their passion and resilience for teaching from a longitudinal and experimental perspective.

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2022

Chijoo Lee

Work crew productivity and the application of limited resources are necessary elements in construction duration delay analysis. This study thus proposes a method to analyze…

Abstract

Purpose

Work crew productivity and the application of limited resources are necessary elements in construction duration delay analysis. This study thus proposes a method to analyze construction delays and resource reallocation based on work crew productivity and resource constraints. The study also presents an economic feasibility analysis that maximizes economic effect by reducing construction duration, the cost of resource reallocation, delay liquidated damages (DLDs) and incentives for reducing contractual duration.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed method involved three steps. First, work crew characteristics such as productivity, unit price and workload helped analyze delay information, including delay duration, reducible duration and daily reduced cost. Next, a goal programming method assessed resource reallocation based on the priority (as determined by decision-makers) of each constraint condition, such as the available number of workers, cost, goal workload and statutory working hours. Lastly, the level of reallocation was analyzed based on the results of the economic feasibility analysis and decision-makers’ delay attitudes.

Findings

A case study was performed to test the proposed method's applicability. Its involved sensitivity analysis indicated proposing to decision-makers a scenario based on the prioritization of economic feasibility. The proposed method's applicability proved high for decision-makers, as they can determine whether to reduce construction duration per the proposed data.

Originality/value

The proposed method's main contribution is the reallocation of resources to reduce construction duration based on work crew productivity and the prioritization of limited resources. The proposed method can analyze the differences in productivity between the plan and actual progress, as well as calculate the necessary number of workers. Decision-makers can then reduce the appropriate level of contractual duration based on their own delay attitude, constraint condition prioritization and results from daily economic feasibility analyses.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 December 2023

Anna Bagirova, Natalia Blednova and Aleksandr Neshataev

The purpose of the study is to research the current state of fathers' involvement in childcare during parental leave and to assess attitudes of Russian population towards possible…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to research the current state of fathers' involvement in childcare during parental leave and to assess attitudes of Russian population towards possible measures that can expand the use of parental leave by fathers in Russia.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a survey of Russian parents with children under the age of 18 months in 2022. The sample accounts for 1,000 people; the survey covered almost all Russian regions.

Findings

The authors found that the ideal workload of fathers is not expected to exceed a third of the total parental workload. Russian parents are not ready to admit dissatisfaction with the existing distribution of workload during parental leave. However, an egalitarian demand for greater involvement of fathers in parental responsibilities is forming, and an interest in transforming the parental leave policy is emerging.

Originality/value

The value of the study consists of assessing the effectiveness of measures that may have a beneficial effect on the use of parental leave by fathers, as well as identifying consequences of the possible introduction of mandatory parental leave for fathers.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 44 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2023

Timothy Bartram, Brian Cooper, Fang Lee Cooke and Jue Wang

The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which…

1520

Abstract

Purpose

The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which wellbeing-oriented HRM practices can transform workers’ feelings of burnout to enable thriving, and subsequently enhance in-role employee performance in high workload contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This study draws on data gathered from 561 employees in bank branches operating in China across two time periods. The authors test the following hypotheses: (1) wellbeing-oriented HRM is positively related to employee thriving; (2) perceived workload is positively related to employee burnout; (3) thriving will mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance; (4) burnout will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; (5) thriving will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; and (6) burnout and thriving will sequentially mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance.

Findings

This study confirmed hypotheses 1–5. Hypothesis 6 was not confirmed. The authors find that thriving mediates the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance, and burnout mediates the relationship between workload and employee performance. The authors also find workload was positively related to thriving (after controlling for burnout), consistent with the challenge–hindrance model of occupational stress.

Originality/value

The study builds on growing evidence that employees can thrive at work even when in stressful situations by using conservation of resources theory to examine how wellbeing-oriented HRM practices act as protective resources against demanding work situations. Findings demonstrate alternative pathways through which wellbeing-oriented HRM can enhance employee performance via reducing burnout and enhancing thriving.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 45 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 May 2023

Junjun Chen, Mehmet Şükrü Bellibaş and Sedat Gümüş

The research aimed to examine the effects of school climate (school violence and community engagement) and resources (staff shortages and resource shortages) on job satisfaction…

Abstract

Purpose

The research aimed to examine the effects of school climate (school violence and community engagement) and resources (staff shortages and resource shortages) on job satisfaction mediated by the workload stress of school principals, using pooled data from 47 jurisdictions around the world.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed a rigorous secondary analysis of principal job satisfaction using the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 dataset. The mediation analysis of structural equation modeling (SEM) performed using STATA software established a structured model by controlling region-fixed effect, principal demographic and school contextual characteristics.

Findings

This study established a model detailing the associations between school climate and resources and principal job satisfaction mediated by workload stress.

Originality/value

Given the crucial role of a school principal in leading school survival and success, this study may provide one timely method to enhance job satisfaction and performance of principals during a period of constant change marked by increasing job demands.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 61 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2024

Narsymbat Salimgereyev, Bulat Mukhamediyev and Aijaz A. Shaikh

This study developed new measures of the routine and non-routine task contents of managerial, professional, technical, and clerical occupations from a workload perspective. Here…

Abstract

Purpose

This study developed new measures of the routine and non-routine task contents of managerial, professional, technical, and clerical occupations from a workload perspective. Here, we present a comparative analysis of the workload structures of state and industrial sector employees.

Design/methodology/approach

Our method involves detailed descriptions of work processes and an element-wise time study. We collected and analysed data to obtain a workload structure that falls within three conceptual task categories: (i) non-routine analytic tasks, (ii) non-routine interactive tasks and (iii) routine cognitive tasks. A total of 2,312 state and industrial sector employees in Kazakhstan participated in the study. The data were collected using a proprietary web application that resembles a timesheet.

Findings

The study results are consistent with the general trend reported by previous studies: the higher the job level, the lower the occupation’s routine task content. In addition, the routine cognitive task contents of managerial, professional, technical, and clerical occupations in the industrial sector are higher than those in local governments. The work of women is also more routinary than that of men. Finally, vthe routine cognitive task contents of occupations in administrative units are higher than those of occupations in substantive units.

Originality/value

Our study sought to address the challenges of using the task-based approach associated with measuring tasks by introducing a new measurement framework. The main advantage of our task measures is a direct approach to assessing workloads consisting of routine tasks, which allows for an accurate estimation of potential staff reductions due to the automation of work processes.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 November 2023

Cameron Hauseman

Several factors and forces in school-level leaders' work can heighten emotions and incite emotionally charged situations. Challenges that heighten school-level leaders' emotions…

Abstract

Several factors and forces in school-level leaders' work can heighten emotions and incite emotionally charged situations. Challenges that heighten school-level leaders' emotions are related to systemic factors, people factors and personal factors. The extent to which each of these different factors influence the emotional experiences of school-level leaders, and whether that influence ends up being positive, negative or neutral, is contextual in nature. The systemic factors include encountering barriers when advocating for students, managing an intensified and expanding workload, working within disorienting policy contexts, and receiving a lack of support from their employer. Changes in school-level leaders' work and workload due to the COVID-19 pandemic that heightened emotions and emotional labour are also considered when discussing the systemic factors. People factors evident in the literature include workplace conflict, gendered power relations and crises and tragedies in the school community. The emotional labour inherent in school-level leadership comes to the forefront when considering the impact of these people factors on emotions at work because school-level leaders are tasked with making decisions that can have an immense impact on peoples' lives. Personal factors discussed in this chapter surround a school-level leader's individual emotional intelligence abilities and media attention directed towards them.

Details

The Emotional Life of School-Level Leaders
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-137-0

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2023

Md Karim Rabiul, Md Mahmudul Alam and Rashed Al Karim

Using conservation of resources (CoR) theory, this study investigates the role of emotional energy as a mediating mechanism in the relationship between workplace ostracism and…

Abstract

Purpose

Using conservation of resources (CoR) theory, this study investigates the role of emotional energy as a mediating mechanism in the relationship between workplace ostracism and employees' service-oriented behaviour, as well as the moderating result of workload on the relationship between emotional energy and service-oriented behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

The opinions of 554 customer-contact employees working in Bangladesh are collected via convenience sampling. Partial least squares structural equation modelling is performed to test the model.

Findings

Workplace ostracism and emotional energy are negatively related. Emotional energy is positively associated with service-oriented behaviour and mediates the link between ostracism and service-oriented behaviour. Workload significantly and negatively moderates the association between emotional energy and service-oriented behaviour.

Practical implications

Hoteliers need to improve employees' emotional energy, distribute workload appropriately and fairly and implement effective strategies to minimise workplace ostracism.

Originality/value

The findings contribute to the CoR theory by explaining the mediating role of emotional energy and moderating role of workload in the Bangladeshi hospitality industry.

Details

Management Decision, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2023

Ercan Akan

The aim of this study is to provide a holistic analysis of all possible maritime business logistics processes related to import and export shipments in a fuzzy environment through…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to provide a holistic analysis of all possible maritime business logistics processes related to import and export shipments in a fuzzy environment through a case study of a maritime logistics company based on the as-is and to-be models within business process management (BPM).

Design/methodology/approach

The analyses considered the following perspectives: (i) in the stage of the process identification, the definition of the problem was carried out; (ii) in the stage of the process discovery, ocean department was divided into ocean export/import operation departments; ocean export/import operation were divided into freight collect/prepaid operation processes; ocean export/import logistics activity groups were broken down into sub-activities for freight collect/prepaid operation; the logistics activity groups and their sub-activities were defined; each sub-activity as either operation or documentation process group was classified; the durations of sub-activities were evaluated by decision-makers (DMs) as fuzzy sets (FSs); the monthly total jobs activities were estimated by DMs as FSs; the applied to monthly jobs activities of total shipments were estimated by DMs as FSs; the durations of each sub-activities were aggregated; the duration of the logistics activity groups and the sub-activities for per job were calculated; the cumulative workload of logistics activity groups and sub-activities were calculated; the duration of sub-activities for per job as operation or documentation departments were calculated, (iii) in the stage of the process analysis, cumulative ocean export/import workload as operation or documentation for freight collect/prepaid were calculated; duration of activity groups and sub-activities for per job as operation or documentation were calculated; cumulative workload activity groups and sub-activities as operation or documentation were calculated, (iv) in the stage of the process redesign, cumulative workload, process cycle time as operation and documentation group and required labor force were calculated; the process cycle time of the theoretical, the as-is model and the to-be model were calculated: (i) the theoretical minimum process cycle time without resource were calculated by the critical path method (CPM), (ii) the process cycle time of the as-is model perspective with the 1 person resource constraint and (iii) the process cycle time of the to-be model perspective with the 2-person resource constraint were calculated by the resource constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) method.

Findings

The methodology for analyzing the ocean department operation process was successfully implemented in a real-life case study. It is observed that the results of the to-be model can be applicable for the company. The BPM-proposed methodology is applicable for the maritime logistics industry in the present study; however, it can be applied to other companies in maritime logistics as well as other industries.

Originality/value

This study contributes to research using BPM methodology in maritime logistics. This is the first study the logistics process analyses were carried out in terms of including all operation processes for a company. All processes were analyzed by using BPM methodology in maritime logistics. This study demonstrated the application of the BPM as-is and to-be models to maritime logistics. The as-is and the to-be models of the BPM methodology were applied in maritime logistics.

Research implications

This methodology applied in this study can enable organizations operating in the time-urgent maritime logistics sector to manage their logistics processes more efficiently, increase customer satisfaction, reduce the risks of customer loss due to poor operational performance and increase profits in the long term. Through the use of these methodologies utilizing FSs, the CPM and the RCPSP methods, this study is expected to make contributions to the BPM literature and provide original insights into the field. Furthermore, this study will undertake a comprehensive analysis of maritime logistics with respect to BPM to deliver noteworthy contributions to the maritime logistics literature and provide original perspectives into the field.

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