Digital Commons Network^™

Psychological Capital, Adaptability, Coping With Change, And Employee Engagement In A Multinational Company, Richard E. Hicks, Eva-Maria Knies

Richard Hicks

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) affected many organizations across the world. There are numerous studies that have examined the financial impacts on organizations and employees but few that have investigated the human capabilities and qualities of employees who survived the crisis. The current study examined the relationships among Psychological Capital (PsyCap: involving self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resilience), individual and organizational adaptability in handling change, and employee engagement after the GFC of 2009, in a multinational organization with headquarters in Europe. The sample totaled 183 employees from across Europe, the US, and Asia. The Psychological Capital Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement …

Unpacking Unintended Consequences In Planned Organizationalchanges: A Process Model, Guowei Jian

Guowei Jian

The author develops a process model of the unintended consequences in planned organizational change that draws on the structuration, organizational change, and organizational tension literatures. The model depicts the communicative actions of both senior management and employees and reveals the dynamic through which unintended consequences unfold. The model extends theoretical understandings of planned organizational change and discusses how future research can build a dialectic and dialogic model of planned change focused on employee participation. The author illustrates the model with a case study of organizational change and its unintended consequences. The article concludes with insights on change management for practitioners …

Clearing The Smoke: Understanding Organizational Change Communication And Misalignment In High-Risk Contexts, Laura Young

Laura Young

Recent economic turbulence in the United States has resulted in budget cuts for many city-funded organizations, including high-risk organizations such as local fire departments. Budget cuts trigger organizational change and create uncertainty among employees, which is a major concern for high-risk organizations. This dissertation examined internal communication practices used during organizational change in an urban fire department and the influence of organizational structure and culture on communication satisfaction. This robust case study used a multi-method approach including interviews with middle managers (i.e., district majors), and focus groups and channel preference surveys with full-time firefighters from lower level ranks (i.e., firefighters, …

Project Management And Organizational Change, Lynn Crawford, Alicia Aitken, Anat Hassner-Nahmias

Lynn Crawford

Extract: Organizational changes have become recognized as a distinct type of project or program, and it may be argued that the majority of projects involve some degree of organizational and behavioral change. The degree of this change can be expected to be greater in projects where the purpose is to achieve organizational change, but even where the focus is on other outcomes, achievement of desired benefits may require structural changes and will generally involve some change in the way people do things. However, while project managers claim to be implementers of change, current project management standards focus on change control …

Principles Of Leading Change: An Inductive Analysis From Post-Katrina New Orleans, Brian R. Beabout

Brian R. Beabout

Despite over forty years of research on theories of educational change, little is known of the change theories-in-use of school-based administrators, often tasked with implementing externally imposed reform mandates. Capitalizing on the unique case of post-Katrina schooling, this qualitative study examines the ways in which ten principals spoke about leading change in their schools. In a city where the district has been almost wholly decentralized, these principals are not implementing changes decided upon by superiors, but have significant autonomy in their choice of change goals and change processes. Despite rarely finding unitary theories of change in the words of New …

“There's No Participation In ‘Our’ Participatory-Action Research Project”: Overcoming Hierarchies In Service-Learning Partnerships, Julia Van Der Ryn, Omar Carrera

Julia van der Ryn

While strategic planning is widely recognized as a central component in the development of sustainable service-learning partnerships and university programs, institutions working to create organizational change often do not have a framework for how to address the power differentials among a diverse group of constituencies. Further, this framework should include all stakeholders in the analysis of the social, historical, and political contexts around service-learning partnerships.

In this study, participants in the service-learning program at Dominican University of California (DUC) explored the complexity of the social forces that influence communication and collaboration in service-learning. DUC faculty members designed a multiphase research …

Global Culture Concerns, Korcel M. Price

Korcel M Price

The following proposal seeks to change hiring, promoting, and firing practices among global and trans-national companies. The changes are intended to fortify the organization through better management, a better employee contract, and by moving closer to a learning organization.

At the heart of the proposal is the desire to move hiring, promoting, and firing practices to an external or internal third party, as means of creating a global culture that consistently applies the values of supra system’s organization.

Union Presence, Employee Relations And High Performance Work Practices, Carol Gill, Denny Myer

Carol Gill

Purpose – To investigate the relationship between unions, employee relations and the adoption of High Performance Work Practices (HPWP). Design/methodology/approach – This study uses survey data collected from the senior members of the HRM function in 1789 large Australian organisations. Findings – We found that unions, when coupled with good employee relations, facilitate the adoption of HPWP and consequently have a positive impact on organisational competitiveness, contradicting the simplistic notion that unions are ‘bad for business’ Research limitations/implications – This study used cross sectional survey data from HRM managers, who whilst being the best single source of information, may have …

Exploring The Intersection Of Project And Change Management, Lynn Crawford, Alicia Aitken, Anat Hassner-Nahmias

Lynn Crawford

The intersection of change and project management is attracting interest from both practitioners and researchers because, in a rapidly changing and evolving environment, an organization’s ability to change itself has become critical to strategic performance. Much of the responsibility for organizational change rests in the hands of general management but devolution of parts of this responsibility to specific change management roles is occurring and there is widespread acceptance of projects and programs as organizing frameworks for change initiatives. However, the fields of project and change management rest on different foundations and have developed in different directions. Although project and program …

Exploring The Link Between Emotional Intelligence And Workplace Anti-Social Behaviors, Jane Murray, Sara Branch

Jane Murray

For more than a decade Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been promoted as a tool that can be used to provide positive individual, team and organizational outcomes in the workplace. Researchers have demonstrated links between EI and organizational variables including organizational change, leadership, performance, conflict, interpersonal skills, citizenship performance and goal setting. Although much valuable research has been conducted, little is known of the links between EI and workplace anti-social behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this conceptual paper is to present a proposed program of research that will explore the relationship between EI and anti-social behaviors in an organizational context. Preliminary …

Re-Imagining Specialized Stem Academies: Igniting And Nurturing ‘Decidedly Different Minds,’ By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

This article offers a personal vision and conceptual design for reimagining specialized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academies designed to nurture decidedly different STEM minds and ignite a new generation of global STEM talent, innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership. This design enables students to engage actively in the authentic work, modes of inquiry, and practices that distinguish four STEM learning cultures, environments, and communities: (a) Inquiry and Research Laboratory and Interdisciplinary Learning Center—develops disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and inquiry-based thinking; (b) Innovation Incubator and Design Studio—ignites innovative and design-based thinking; (c) Global Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Institute—nurtures change leadership and systems-based thinking; …

Worker Attitudes To Technological And Organizational Change In The Steel Industry, Robert Castle, Raymond Markey, Don Bourne

Robert G. Castle

No abstract provided.

Drivers, Impediments And Manifestations Of Brand Orientation: An International Museum Study, Jody Evans, Kerrie Bridson, Ruth Rentschler

Jody Evans

Purpose – While the body of work exploring brand orientation has grown, there has been a general failure to build on extant research and generate a holistic conceptualization of brand orientation. This paper aims to develop a model of the key drivers, impediments and manifestations of brand orientation in a museum context.

Design/methodology/approach – A collective case study design was used, consisting of key informant interviews using a semi-structured interview protocol and analysis of institutional documents and observational research. Interviews took place with well-known museums across three countries: the UK, the USA and Australia. This paper demonstrates the richness of …

The Impact Of Domestic Violence In The Workplace, Helen Lavan, Yvette P. Lopez, Marsha Katz, William M. Martin

Yvette P. Lopez

No abstract provided.

Ensuring The Implementation Of Engineering Asset Management: Understanding Organisational Culture, Matthew J. Xerri

Matthew J Xerri

This paper reviews the literature about Engineering Asset Management (EAM), the implementation of organisational change and organisational culture and suggests a process for measuring the organisational culture of asset firms to determine if the current environment is conducive to supporting change to improve overall asset management performance. The information can be used by management to identify what work practices are being promoted and which need to be changed if required. A change in management practices (e.g. supervision or rewards) is most likely required to support the successful implementation of an asset management framework. The development of such practices can be …

Managing Obesity: Human Resource Managers' Perspectives., Helen Lavan

Helen LaVan

No abstract provided.

Managing Obesity: Human Resource Managers' Perspectives., Helen Lavan, Marsha Katz

Helen LaVan

No abstract provided.

Do Leaders Reap What They Sow? Leader And Employee Outcomes Of Leader Cynicism About Organizational Change., Robert Rubin, Erich Dierdorff, William Bommer, Timothy Baldwin

Erich C. Dierdorff

Despite increased attention given to the attitude of organizational cynicism, few studies have examined the impact of leader cynicism in organizations. The present study sought to investigate relationships between leader cynicism about organizational change (CAOC) and outcomes relevant to both the leader (performance and organizational citizenship behavior ratings) and his/her employees (employee organizational commitment and CAOC). Using data from 106 manufacturing managers, leader CAOC was found to negatively influence both leader and employee outcomes. Of particular importance, transformational leader behavior was found to fully mediate these relationships and thus served as an important explanatory mechanism. A discussion concerning the potential …

Power, Rationality And Legitimacy In Public Organizations, Ray Gordon, Martin Kornberger, Stewart Clegg

Ray Gordon

In this paper we propose answers to the research question: how does power shape the construction of legitimacy in the context of public organizations? We suggest that while organizational structures of dominancy will be embedded, not all structures of dominancy align with those that are normatively presented as legitimate and authoritative. Such situations make the creation and sustenance of legitimacy problematic for organizational action. This paper advances our understanding of the relation between power, rationality and legitimacy by showing how structures of domination recursively constitute, and are constituted by, legitimacy that may not be authoritative. We show, empirically, how these …

Where Small Business Hits The Big Time: Good Governance Is More Affordable Than Ever, Graeme Cocks, Jens Mueller, Coral Ingley

Graeme Cocks

Small and mid-size firms more often then not fill board seats with executive directors, mostly representing founders and operators of the business. While we observe a clear trend towards the addition of independent directors, the perceptions of cost and lack of contribution appear to be hurdles for smaller business when it comes to the strengthening of their boards. Based on four consecutive annual reviews of governance in NZ, with a special emphasis on SMEs, we suggest that shareholders and senior managers of SMEs are beginning to understand that external directors do add value ­ and are a lot less expensive …

Competent And Likeable? Protecting And Promoting Women’S Likeability In Employment Negotiations, Mara Olekalns, Carol Kulik

Mara Olekalns

Professional women earn less than their male counterparts and this salary gap largely results from the ways men and women negotiate employment terms. We integrate the Stereotype Content Model and Expectancy Violation Theory to explain why traditional “best practice” negotiation behaviors benefit male negotiators but backfire for female negotiators. Gender counter-normative behaviors create negative expectancy violations for women, generating cognitive and emotional backlash from their negotiation partners. We use this theoretical integration to identify alternative strategies that female employees and their employers can use to avoid negative expectancy violations and ensure that women are not disadvantaged in workplace negotiations.

Exposure To Intermediaries And The Meanings Managers Hold: Evidence From Manufacturing Best Practices Programs, Peter Cebon, E. Geoffrey Love

Peter Cebon

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between New Work Practices, Trust And Unions, Carol Gill

Carol Gill

This paper examines extant theory and empirical research on new work methods, employee voice, employee trust and unions to draw conclusions on the relationship between these constructs and make recommendations for future empirical research. It found that trust is an important antecedent of new work methods and that union collective voice when coupled with collaborative industrial relations enhances employee trust which facilitates the successful adoption of new work methods and delivers sustainable competitive advantage. This refutes the proposition that unions are a threat to productivity which leads management respond with union avoidance and suppression. This paper has implications for management …

How Unions Impact On The State Of The Psychological Contract To Facilitate The Adoption Of New Work Practices, Carol Gill

Carol Gill

This article draws together extant knowledge from the psychological contract, trust, union and new work practices (NWP) literature to develop a model on how union presence impacts on the effective adoption of NWP. It proposes that the strength of unions, coupled with the quality of industrial relations, determines whether unions will have a positive or negative impact on NWP. Unions can have a positive impact on the adoption of NWP by reducing the gap between management rhetoric and reality through employee voice and workforce stability. This builds trust between management and employees creating a virtuous cycle that can mitigate contract …

New Public Management Is Dead--Long Live Digital-Era Governance, Patrick Dunleavy, Helen Margetts, Simon Bastow, Jane Tinkler

Helen Z Margetts

The "new public management" (NPM) wave in public sector organizational change was founded on themes of disaggregation, competition, and incentivization. Although its effects are still working through in countries new to NPM, this wave has now largely stalled or been reversed in some key "leading-edge" countries. This ebbing chiefly reflects the cumulation of adverse indirect effects on citizens' capacities for solving social problems because NPM has radically increased institutional and policy complexity. The character of the post-NPM regime is currently being formed. We set out the case that a range of connected and information technology-centered changes will be critical for …

Delivering Legality On The Internet: Developing Principles For The Private Provision Of Commercial Law, Gillian K. Hadfield

Gillian K Hadfield

No abstract provided.

Emotion And Attribution Of Intentionality In Leader-Member Relationships, Marie T. Dasborough

Marie T Dasborough

No abstract provided.