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Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Strategic Ambiguity And Leaders' Responsibility Beyond Maximising Profits, Mario Fernando, Ah Ba Sim Aug 2012

Strategic Ambiguity And Leaders' Responsibility Beyond Maximising Profits, Mario Fernando, Ah Ba Sim

Mario Fernando

Australia has the world‟s highest number of documented cases of mesothemilia, a lung cancer caused by asbestos, and the building products manufacturer, James Hardie (Australia) has been accused for causing over half of these cases (Hills, 2005). The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) sued several executives of James Hardie for misleading stakeholders on asbestos victim compensation, and failing to act with care and diligence (ASIC, 2009). In a landmark decision in Australian corporate governance, the New South Wales Supreme Court held in April 2009 that James Hardie‟s chairwoman, nine directors and executives violated the law by approving and issuing …


Workplace Spirituality And Organizational Hypocrisy: The Holy Water-Gate Case, Mario Fernando, Michael Gross Apr 2012

Workplace Spirituality And Organizational Hypocrisy: The Holy Water-Gate Case, Mario Fernando, Michael Gross

Mario Fernando

This paper is based on the sex scandal that enveloped the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002. In the face of increasing challenges to organizational deviance and silence, this paper showcases how the Catholic Church, entrusted with the upliftment of Christian spiritual values of its congregation and society, took the path of organizational hypocrisy. Drawing from the literature on organizational deviance and silence in profit driven organizations, we examine the practice of pseudo workplace spirituality. We argue that organizational hypocrisy is a major implication for profit driven organizations pursuing workplace spirituality for solely legitimacy reasons.


The Utility Of The Assessment Of Spirituality And Religious Sentiments (Aspires) Scale With Christians And Buddhists In Sri Lanka, R. Piedmont, M. B. Werdel, Mario Fernando Apr 2012

The Utility Of The Assessment Of Spirituality And Religious Sentiments (Aspires) Scale With Christians And Buddhists In Sri Lanka, R. Piedmont, M. B. Werdel, Mario Fernando

Mario Fernando

The Assessment of Spirituality and Religious Sentiments (ASPIRES) Scale represents spirituality as a universal source of motivation. Psychometric evidence for this argument is demonstrated when scores on the scale remain reliable and structurally valid across cultures and religious contexts. The psychometric qualities of the ASPIRES was examined with in a diverse religious sample from Sri Lanka. The results demonstrated the structural validity and applicability of the measure within this ethnic group. The data provided further support for cross-cultural applicability of the instrument and for the assumption of spirituality as a universal aspect of the human experience.


Transformational Leadership In A Cross-Cultural Setting, Mario Fernando, Yi-Feng Yang Apr 2012

Transformational Leadership In A Cross-Cultural Setting, Mario Fernando, Yi-Feng Yang

Mario Fernando

This paper reports the findings of a study that examines the application of transformational leadership in a cross-cultural setting. This study used Baron and Kenny’s (1986) and Parker’s (2003) mediation model, Podsakoff and Mackenzie’s (1990) scale of transformational leadership behaviour, and Herscovitch and Meyer’s (2002) items on commitment to change. Participants comprising pastors and church members were drawn from six Chinese- and three English-speaking church congregations in St Louis, Missouri, USA. The research findings suggest that the members of Chinese-speaking churches were positively affected by task-oriented behaviors and three types of commitment to change. On the other hand, the members …


Unbounded Rationality: The Role Of Connectedness In Right Decision-Making, Mario Fernando, Scott Burrows Apr 2012

Unbounded Rationality: The Role Of Connectedness In Right Decision-Making, Mario Fernando, Scott Burrows

Mario Fernando

This paper reports the preliminary findings of a study examining the role of connection in right decision-making of managers operating in Australia. The key aims of the study are to identify the influence of connectedness in the ethical outcomes of right decision-making, to identify barriers to right decision-making and lastly, to examine the nature of any relationship/s between connectedness and unbounded rationality in right decision-making. The study compares and contrasts eight case studies of middle and senior managers drawn from information technology, service and manufacturing sectors. The primary data for the study are in-depth interviews. The findings suggest that connection …


The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-Being And Ethical Orientations In Decision Making: An Empirical Study With Business Executives In Australia, Mario Fernando, Rafi Chowdhury Apr 2012

The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-Being And Ethical Orientations In Decision Making: An Empirical Study With Business Executives In Australia, Mario Fernando, Rafi Chowdhury

Mario Fernando

The relationship between spiritual well-being and ethical orientations in decision making is examined through a survey of executives in organizations listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The four domains of spiritual well-being, personal, communal, environmental and transcendental (Fisher, Spiritual health: its nature and place in the school curriculum, PhD thesis, University of Melbourne, 1998; Gomez and Fisher, Pers Individ Differ 35:1975–1991, 2003) are examined in relation to idealism and relativism (Forsyth, J Pers Soc Psychol 39(1):175–184, 1980). Results reveal that spiritual well-being, in particular the communal domain of spiritual well-being, is correlated with and predictive of idealism. However, the relationship …