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Mother Earth "Speaks": Change Yourself, Change The World, Use The Archetypal Energy "Harmony" As A Guide, Carroy U. Ferguson Jun 2010

Mother Earth "Speaks": Change Yourself, Change The World, Use The Archetypal Energy "Harmony" As A Guide, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

In relation to the Cosmos, we all, as human beings, live on this tiny planet we call Earth, a planet that supports and sustains life, as we know it. There are many different kinds of people, plants, and animals functioning in harmony with soil, air, and water--all linked to one another in a complex web of life to form one Earth community. Unfortunately, we often take this miracle and ecosystem of life for granted. When, however, we take the ecosystem of life too much for granted, Mother Earth "speaks," reflecting imbalances and dis-harmonies. When Mother Earth "speaks," her message is …


From A Mirage To An Oasis: Narcissism, Perceived Creativity, And Creative Performance, Jack Goncalo, Francis J. Flynn, Sharon H. Kim Jun 2010

From A Mirage To An Oasis: Narcissism, Perceived Creativity, And Creative Performance, Jack Goncalo, Francis J. Flynn, Sharon H. Kim

Jack Goncalo

We examine the link between narcissism and creativity at the individual, relational, and group levels of analysis. We find that narcissists are not necessarily more creative than others but they think they are, and they are adept at convincing others to agree with them. In the first study, narcissism was positively associated with self-rated creativity, despite the fact that blind coders saw no difference between the creative products offered by those low and high on narcissism. In a second study, more narcissistic individuals asked to pitch creative ideas to a target person were judged by the targets as being more …


Individualism-Collectivism And Group Creativity, Jack A. Goncalo, Barry M. Staw May 2010

Individualism-Collectivism And Group Creativity, Jack A. Goncalo, Barry M. Staw

Jack Goncalo

Current research in organizational behavior suggests that organizations should adopt collectivistic values because they promote cooperation and productivity, while individualistic values should be avoided because they incite destructive conflict and opportunism. In this paper, we highlight one possible benefit of individualistic values that has not previously been considered. Because individualistic values can encourage uniqueness, such values might be useful when creativity is a desired outcome. Although we hypothesize that individualistic groups should be more creative than collectivistic groups, we also consider an important competing hypothesis: Given that collectivistic groups are more responsive to norms, they might be more creative than …


Ilr Impact Brief - Group Success Depends On Giving Individuals Credit Where Credit Is Due, Jack A. Goncalo, Michelle M. Duguid May 2010

Ilr Impact Brief - Group Success Depends On Giving Individuals Credit Where Credit Is Due, Jack A. Goncalo, Michelle M. Duguid

Jack Goncalo

[Excerpt] Does the tendency of groups to take credit for their success without acknowledging the input of specific group members affect subsequent group performance? In a word, yes. This “group-serving bias” may cause groups to ignore or underestimate the potentially unique contributions made by each individual member, a common practice that can lead to inferior outcomes. When groups ascribe their success to individuals, they are more likely to explore a wide range of divergent alternatives before reaching consensus. Attribution to individuals also facilitates the sharing of information that is known to only one member of the group but is critical …


Hidden Consequences Of The Group Serving Bias: Causal Attributions And The Quality Of Group Decision Making, Jack Goncalo, Michelle M. Duguid May 2010

Hidden Consequences Of The Group Serving Bias: Causal Attributions And The Quality Of Group Decision Making, Jack Goncalo, Michelle M. Duguid

Jack Goncalo

A long stream of research in attribution theory suggests that groups are biased toward attributing their success to factors that are internal to their group. However, the existing research has confounded two types of attributions that are both internal to the group, but theoretically distinct: (1) Attributions that differentiate between the contributions made by each individual group member and (2) attributions that focus on the group as a whole. This dichotomy is important because, drawing on theories of social influence, we predict that different types of attributions will have different consequences for the quality of group decision making. In experiment …


Past Success And Creativity Over Time: A Study Of Inventors In The Hard Disk Drive Industry, Pino G. Audia, Jack A. Goncalo May 2010

Past Success And Creativity Over Time: A Study Of Inventors In The Hard Disk Drive Industry, Pino G. Audia, Jack A. Goncalo

Jack Goncalo

We integrate psychological theories of individual creativity with organizational theories of exploration versus exploitation in order to examine the relationship between past success and creativity over time. A key prediction derived from this theoretical integration is that successful people should be more likely to generate new ideas, but these ideas will tend to be less divergent as they favor the exploitation of familiar knowledge at the expense of the exploration of new domains. This prediction departs from the often-held view that people who generate more ideas will also generate ideas that are more divergent. Analyses of patenting in the hard …


Can Confidence Come Too Soon? Collective Efficacy, Conflict And Group Performance Over Time, Jack Goncalo, Evan Polman, Christina Maslach May 2010

Can Confidence Come Too Soon? Collective Efficacy, Conflict And Group Performance Over Time, Jack Goncalo, Evan Polman, Christina Maslach

Jack Goncalo

Groups with a strong sense of collective efficacy set more challenging goals, persist in the face of difficulty, and are ultimately more likely to succeed than groups who do not share this belief. Given the many advantages that may accrue to groups who are confident, it would be logical to advise groups to build a high level of collective efficacy as early as possible. However, we draw on Whyte’s (1998) theory of collective efficacy and groupthink, to predict that when confidence emerges at a high level toward the beginning of a group’s existence, group members may be less likely to …


W Obronie Biurokracji, Dariusz Jemielniak Jan 2010

W Obronie Biurokracji, Dariusz Jemielniak

Dariusz Jemielniak

Niniejszy artykuł stara się obronić prowokacyjną tezę, iż biurokracja jest jedną z najbardziej naturalnych form organizacji pracy i posiada liczne korzyści, zwłaszcza skonfrontowana z nowoczesnymi metodami zarządzania, opierającymi się na kontroli normatywnej.


Temporal And Spatial Shifts Within Playful Work, Carolyn Hunter, Dariusz Jemielniak, Agnieszka Postuła Jan 2010

Temporal And Spatial Shifts Within Playful Work, Carolyn Hunter, Dariusz Jemielniak, Agnieszka Postuła

Dariusz Jemielniak

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a qualitative study of software engineers' playful behaviors at work. Design/methodology/approach – The interviewed software engineers come from two European and three American companies. The research is based on ethnographical data, gathered in two longitudinal studies2005-2008 . The methods used in the study include open-ended unstructured interviews, participant observations, stories collection, and shadowings. Findings – It is found that the currently dominant theory of normative control explaining software engineers workplace diminishes leisure and entertainment attributes of knowledge work. Fun at workplace is discovered to be an important, …


Narratives Of Irony And Failure In Ethnographic Work, Dariusz Jemielniak, Monika Kostera Jan 2010

Narratives Of Irony And Failure In Ethnographic Work, Dariusz Jemielniak, Monika Kostera

Dariusz Jemielniak

Organizational ethnography is one of the most valued approaches to qualitative studies of organizations. Much attention has been given to the development of the research process, of which the researcher's identity is an integral part. However, we believe that the analysis of research failures has been much less developed in the discourse of ethnographic methods for the study of organizations. Therefore, we have explored some of the “slips” in ethnographic work, as described in accounts of fellow organizational anthropologists. As the study is qualitative, we have adopted a narrative research method. We have divided the “slips” (i.e., errors) into four …


Differential Association Theory And Juvenile Delinquency In Ghana’S Capital City - Accra: The Case Of Ghana Borstal Institute, Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh, Paul Kofi Andoh Dec 2009

Differential Association Theory And Juvenile Delinquency In Ghana’S Capital City - Accra: The Case Of Ghana Borstal Institute, Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh, Paul Kofi Andoh

Dr Thomas ANTWI BOSIAKOH

Current sociological theories argue that, delinquency results from economic and family relational problems. Unable to have their parents meet their material needs, children turn to all sorts of activities, many of which eventually lead to delinquent acts. Other theories focus on the role of peer relationships in determining deviancy. Using Edwin Sutherland’s differential association theory, this study explores the notion that, delinquency in inmates of the Ghana borstal institute is a reflection of the peer groups/friendship relations they hanged out with. Data for the study were collected from the Ghana borstal institute, a correctional institution for reforming juvenile offenders with …


State Policy, Depeasantisation And Agrarian Change: The Effects Of The Presidential Special Initiative (Psi) On Cassava-Starch On Peasant Farmers’ Socio-Economic Livelihood, Paul Kofi Andoh, Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh Dec 2009

State Policy, Depeasantisation And Agrarian Change: The Effects Of The Presidential Special Initiative (Psi) On Cassava-Starch On Peasant Farmers’ Socio-Economic Livelihood, Paul Kofi Andoh, Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh

Dr Thomas ANTWI BOSIAKOH

This study focuses on the interface between state policy initiatives, the process of depeasantisation and agrarian change, using the Presidential Special Initiative on Cassava-Starch as a case. Employing both quantitative and qualitative data gathering techniques, primary data were collected from six farming communities in the Awutu-Effutu-Senya and Atebubu-Amantin districts of the Central and Brong Ahafo regions of Ghana. The analysis of primary data revealed that with the right policy initiatives by the state, it is possible to systematically incorporate peasant farmers into mainstream economy and to improve their socio-economic livelihoods. To this extent, the study recommends among others that given …


Leadership And Membership Structure Of Migrant Associations: The Case Of Nigerian Migrant Associations In Accra, Ghana, Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh Dec 2009

Leadership And Membership Structure Of Migrant Associations: The Case Of Nigerian Migrant Associations In Accra, Ghana, Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh

Dr Thomas ANTWI BOSIAKOH

Migrant associations are a worldwide phenomenon, featuring in much of the migration studies literature. However, much of these studies focus on migrant associations in theUSA mostly of Latino migrants from Central and Latin America. In Africa and more particularly Ghana, literature on migrant associations is paltry. The few that exist only explore their development impacts on the migration sending areas. In this paper, I explore three Nigerian migrant associations in Accra, Ghana. The leadership and membership structures of the Nigerian Women, Nigerian Committee of Brothers and the Edo State associations in Accra, Ghana are under the spotlight of this discourse. …