Business Commons^™

The Relationship Between Personality And Self-Report Abilities, Julie Schermer, Andrew Johnson, Philip Vernon, Kerry Jang

Andrew M. Johnson

The relationship between self-report abilities and personality was examined at both the phenotypic (zero-order) level as well as at the genetic and environmental levels. Twins and siblings (N = 516) completed self-report ability and personality questionnaires. A factor analysis of the ability questions revealed 10 factors, including politics, interpersonal relationships, practical tasks, intellectual pursuits, academic skills, entrepreneur/business, domestic skills, vocal abilities, and creativity. Five personality factors were examined, including extraversion, conscientiousness, dependence, aggression, and openness. At the phenotypic level, the correlations between the ability factor scores and personality factor scores ranged from 0 to .60 (between political abilities and extraversion). …

On The Broader View Of The Open Source Paradigm: The Case For Agricultural Biotechnology, Geoffrey Black, Meredith Taylor, Wita Wojtkowski

Wita Wojtkowski

This study reviews the use and advantages of open source software licensing and examines how the use of similar arrangements could increase productivity and innovation in other industries where intellectual property rights (IPR) protection has relied on proprietary measures and where rapid technological innovation is important. We observe that a reliance on proprietary, closed source protection of intellectual property in agricultural biotechnology has hindered product development and resulted in spiraling research and development costs. Reduced research productivity and increasing costs are of serious concern to practitioners, academicians, and policy makers. We show that lessons learned from the open source initiatives …

A Conceptual Framework For Assessing The Transferability Of The The Japanese Kaizen Management Techniques To Manufacturing Plants In Ethiopia, Asayehgn Desta

Asayehgn Desta

The Great Academic-Practitioner Divide: A Tale Of Two Paradigms, D. Mcnatt, Myron Glassman, Aaron Glassman

D. Brian McNatt

For decades, many academicians have expressed concern about the gap between themselves and practitioners. In those decades, much has been written about the probable causes of and methods for narrowing this gap. Despite the dialog and the efforts to narrow it, the gap remains. This paper explores four assumptions related to the gap. We use paradigm theory to examine the "academic world" and the "practitioner world" and to explain how the separate worlds perpetuate the gap. We then propose that academicians either accept the gap or legitimize the pracademic viewpoint. a paradigm that reconciles the differences between the academic and …

Can Leaders Step Outside Of The Gender Box? An Examination Of Leadership And Gender Role Stereotypes, Margaret Padgett, Craig Caldwell, Andrew Embry

Margaret Y. Padgett

This study examined gender stereotypes for leaders using a more indirect method than is typical in stereotype research. Rather than reveal the leader's gender, this study used vignettes in which the leader's gender was unknown. Consistent with their hypothesis, the authors found that participants were more likely to infer a male (female) gender identity than a female (male) gender identity when presented with a leader using a masculine (feminine) style. They also hypothesized that a leader using a gender-consistent leadership style would be viewed more positively than a leader using a gender-inconsistent style. Contrary to this hypothesis, results revealed that …

Leadership Lessons From The Chilean Mine, Terri Scandura

Terri A. Scandura

No abstract provided.

Why High And Low Performers Leave And What They Find Elsewhere: Job Performance Effects On Employment Transitions, Charlie Trevor , John Hausknecht , Michael Howard

John Hausknecht

Little is known about how high and low performers differ in terms of why they leave their jobs, and no work examines whether pre-quit job performance matters for post-quit new-job outcomes. Working with a sample of approximately 2,500 former employees of an organization in the leisure and hospitality industry, we find that the reported importance of a variety of quit reasons differs both across and within performance levels. Additionally, we use an ease-of-movement perspective to predict how pre-quit performance relates to post-quit employment, new-job pay, and new-job advancement opportunity. Job type, tenure, and race interacted with performance in predicting new-job …

Ssrn As An Initial Revolution In Academic Knowledge Aggregation And Dissemination, David Bray, Sascha Vitzthum, Benn Konsynski

Sascha Vitzthum

Within this paper we consider our results of using the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) over a period of 18 months to distribute our working papers to the research community. Our experiences have been quite positive, with SSRN serving as a platform both to inform our colleagues about our research as well as inform us about related research (through email and telephoned conversations of colleagues who discovered our paper on SSRN). We then discuss potential future directions for SSRN to consider, and how SSRN might well represent an initial revolution in 21st century academic knowledge aggregation and dissemination. Our paper …

A Study Of Project Categorisation Based On Project Management Complexity, Alicia Aitken, Lynn Crawford

Lynn Crawford

This study explores the use of project complexity categorisation as a means of understanding and applying the competencies required to manage projects across a portfolio of project types including projects of an innovative nature. The data for this study includes one hundred and twenty project descriptions and ratings of complexity by project managers of their current (or most recent) project according to project management complexity factors developed to support global project management competency standards. The data was collected as part of a global study into project management competence, complexity and behaviours conducted over the course of 2005 and 2006. This …

Stakeholders, Robert Phillips

Robert Phillips

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Service-Profit Chain: Conceptual Framework And Propositions., Carmel Herington, Lester Johnson

Lester Johnson

This conceptual paper proposes an expanded relationship service-profit chain as a business success model based on blending human resource management and marketing within the relationship marketing framework. The major contribution of the paper is the extension of thought and usage of the service-profit chain through the super-imposition of a relationship building approach to the provision of service. The proposed model draws on the original service-profit chain, which is further enhanced through the addition of a relationship marketing orientation guiding business culture and combining internal marketing and human resource management activities to best implement an updated service-profit chain. The enhanced relationship …

The Rbv And Value Creation: A Managerial Perspective, Angelina Zubac, Graham Hubbard, Lester Johnson

Lester Johnson

Purpose: The paper aims to explain why the customer value construct is important to resource-based view (RBV) scholars and how one might define it to study it. Design/methodology/approach: By a summary of the ideas behind the RBV and previously applied definitions of customer value, the paper explains why Woodruff's multidimensional definition of customer value is suited to studying customer value from a managerial perspective. To this end, it develops a framework and derives three research questions for studying how managers use the firm's resources to creat customer value. Findings: It was found that to understand how managers invest in dynamic …

A Complaint Is A Gift By Janelle Barlow And Claus Moller, William Bleuel

William H. Bleuel

Graziadio Business Review

Evaluating Pay-For-Performance Systems: Critical Issues For Implementation, Myron Glassman, Aaron Glassman, Paul Champagne, Mike Zugelder

Aaron Glassman

Most organizations use a merit pay or pay-for-performance system (PFP) to improve employee performance. Despite its popularity, a PFP system can be difficult to implement. Success depends on several issues. These include adequate funding, suitable job characteristics, and appropriate performance feedback. Moreover, even under the best circumstances, PFP systems may cause unintended consequences such as dysfunctional behavior, unethical conduct and even employment discrimination. Still, when the critical issues for proper implementation are appropriately addressed, a PFP system is and should continue to be a successful management tool to enhance employee performance in the workplace.

Do Profit Maximizers Take Cold Showers?, Neil Campbell, Jeffrey Kline

Neil Campbell

A firm takes a "cold shower" if removal of a protective subsidy induces investment in a cost-reducing technology. We show that if the investment lowers marginal cost everywhere, then profit maximizers never take cold showers. However, if the investment does not lower marginal cost everywhere, a profit maximizer may take a cold shower.

Crisis In American Information Systems Education: Innovations To Address The Threat Of Offshoring, Kate Kaiser, Erran Carmel, Michael Gallivan, Monica Adya, Arkulgud Ramprasad, Amar Gupta

Monica Adya

Our classrooms are nearly empty. The job prospects for our graduates are bleak. Offshoring is reconfiguring the American information technology industry. What are we to do? After years of unprecedented growth, demand, and skill shortages, IT faculty find themselves in a new environment. As a short- term solution, some faculty are scrambling to develop and redesign courses. This is not enough and will not sustain the fundamental shifts needed in a global economy. How can individual faculty, Information Systems departments, and schools respond to survive the rapidly changing landscape? The situation calls for innovations in academic delivery. Academics must serve …

Get To Work, Jennifer Keil

Jennifer Keil

The Long-Run Determinants Of Australian Income Inequality, Noel Gaston, Gulasekaran Rajaguru

Gulasekaran Rajaguru

Recent interest has been stimulated by the growth of income inequality in most developed countries during the 1980s and 1990s. However, considerable uncertainty still exists as to which factors have been the most important causes of this development. This article uses a measure of income inequality derived from taxation statistics and a recently proposed method for testing long-run Granger non-causality to examine the key determinants of Australia's inequality for the years 1970–2001. In line with popular concern, we find that globalisation and technological progress – defined as the global flow of information – has increased income inequality. In contrast, improved …

Detailed Online Quizzes: Facilitating Holistic, Integrated Learning Experience In Operations Management, Rahul Kale, Saurabh Gupta, Paul Fadil

Saurabh Gupta

Curriculum research in business schools points out that operations management (OM) is one of the more challenging courses to teach. Instructors have always struggled to enhance the student learning experience in OM courses. This article illustrates the development and utilisation of detailed online quizzes in a core OM undergraduate course and demonstrates its potential to achieve higher levels of student learning by mapping the quiz questions to the Bloom's taxonomy. The authors' argue that such quizzes lead to enhanced student performance and a more fulfilling course experience. To substantiate this position, the results of a quasi-experiment which test student perceptions …

The Influence Of Culture And Demography On Classroom Participation: Integrating Technology Into The Pedagogical Paradigm, Saurabh Gupta, Paul Fadil, Rahul Kale

Saurabh Gupta

This paper explores how technology can overcome the negative influences of cultural and demographical differences on classroom participation. The authors propose a theoretically-based, pedagogical paradigm which illustrates how barriers erected by cultural and demographic differences in the classroom can be overcome by utilizing advanced information technology. Finally the influences of classroom participation on various learning objectives are reviewed, propositions are derived from the model, and future research directions are discussed.

Gender Differences In Mba Students: Work-Life Balance, Opting Out And The Increasing Importance Of Flexibility, Jennifer Keil, K. Somerville

Jennifer Keil

Towards Self-Organizing, Smart Business Networks: Let’S Create ‘Life’ From Inert Information, David Bray, Benn Konsynski

David A. Bray

We review three different theories that can inform how researchers can determine the performance of smart business networks, to include: (1) the Theory of Evolution, (2) the Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm, and (3) research insights into computers and cognition. We suggest that each of these theories demonstrate that to be generally perceived as smart, an organism needs to be self-organizing, communicative, and tool-making. Consequentially, to determine the performance of a smart business network, we suggest that researchers need to determine the degree to which it is self-organizing, communicative, and tool-making. We then relate these findings to the Internet and …

Senior Management Perceptions Of Effective Project Manager Behavior: An Exploration Of A Core Set Of Behaviors For Superior Project Managers, Alicia Aitken, Lynn Crawford

Lynn Crawford

Successful project managers continually demonstrate a core set of behaviors that enable them to effectively lead project teams. This paper examines an exploratory study attempting to distinguish the core behaviors--as determined by senior managers--of effective project managers. In doing so, it defines the study's six interview questions that 41 senior managers were asked to answer in relation to 32 personality dimensions and 20 behavioral competencies. It overviews the key previous studies on the behavioral profiles of superior-performing project managers; it explains the authors' research methodology and reports the research findings, identifying the seven necessary personality characteristics common among successful project …

The Economic Costs And Benefits Of Self-Managed Teams Among Skilled Technicians, Rosemary Batt

Rosemary Batt

This paper estimates the economic costs and benefits of implementing teams among highly-skilled technicians in a large regional telecommunications company. It matches individual survey and objective performance data for 230 employees in matched pairs of traditionally-supervised and self-managed groups. Multivariate regressions with appropriate controls show that teams do the work of supervisors in 60-70% less time, reducing indirect labor costs by 75 percent per team. Objective measures of quality and labor productivity are unaffected. Team members receive additional overtime pay that represents a 4-5 percent annual wage premium, which may be viewed alternatively as a share in the productivity gains …

Phenotypic And Genetic Relationships Between Vocational Interests And Personality, Julie Harris, Philip Vernon, Andrew Johnson, Kerry Jang

Andrew M. Johnson

Relationships between personality and vocational interest factors were examined at the phenotypic and genetic levels. Twins and siblings (N = 516) completed self-report personality and vocational interest scales. Following factor analyses of each scale, five personality and six vocational interest factors were extracted. At the phenotypic level, correlations between personality and vocational interests ranged from zero to .33. Heritability estimates of the scales showed that genetic components accounted for 0–56% of the variance for the vocational interest factors and 44–65% for the personality factors. Genetic correlations between the two areas ranged from zero to .50. The results suggest that personality …

Gender, Risk And Pay, Jennifer Keil, K. Chauvin

Jennifer Keil

Deterioration And Women’S Labor Force Participation, Jennifer Keil, K. Moe

Jennifer Keil

Accessing Board Positions: A Comparison Of Female And Male Board Members’ Views, Alison Sheridan, Gina Milgate

Gina C Milgate

In Australia, as in many Western industrialised countries, women accessing corporate board positions are still the exception to the rule. This paper reports research exploring men's and women's views on the factors crucial in attaining a board position. While both groups identified the importance of a strong track record, a good understanding of business principles and business contacts in gaining board positions, we found that women also highlighted the importance of high visibility and family contacts to account for their nomination to boards. It seems that women's competence has to be widely acknowledged in the public domain or through family …

Interviews, Jack Marr, Paul Scalise, Yuki Honjo

Jack Marr

Jack Marr, a native of Chicago, divides his time between directing business development for the State of Missouri in Japan and China and managing his own consulting practice in which he works closely with management to formulate and execute Asia-Pacific strategies.

"She Says, He Says”: Women’S And Men’S Views Of The Composition Of Boards, Alison Sheridan, Gina Milgate

Gina C Milgate

While women have continued to increase their representation in the paid workforce, their representation on corporate boards in Australia remains very low. In this paper, the views of men and women board members of publicly-listed companies in Australia concerning the adequacy of the composition of boards and the factors contributing to women’s low representation are explored and contrasted. It seems that these “successful” men and women have significantly different views on the benefits of homogeneity or diversity of board membership. While the men believe the current composition is generally adequate, the women are concerned about the lack of diversity of …