Business Commons^™

Textbook Tasks For Social Change: Instantiation Of Development Debates And Interposition Of Pedagogical Interventions In Media Literacy Education, John N. Ponsaran

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

As materialization of their discursive stance as instructional communicators and media producers, textbook authors instantiate various development debates as well as interpose a wide range of pedagogical interventions for critical reflection and adoption by learners. This qualitative study sought to situate these development debates and the counterpart pedagogical interventions within the context of textbook task design as an application and embodiment of social justice communication. The development debates serve as the proposed contexts for media text analyses, reflective exercises, case studies, and media production, among others. Correspondingly, the interposition of interventions allows students to make sense of and act upon …

Civilian Oversight Of Police Through The Lens Of Polarities Of Democracy, Joseph A. Mcmillan, Jacqueline D. Smith, William J. Benet

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Following the murder of George Floyd, the U.S. Congress called upon the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) to play a role in the reimagining of policing in America, including a transformation of policing from a warrior to a guardian mentality. In turn, NOBLE partnered with the Institute for Polarities of Democracy (the Institute) to conduct an analysis of the 21st Century Policing Report (the Report), which focused on addressing a myriad of issues that challenged the relationship between the police and communities. The Report determined there were six “pillars” necessary for effective policing in America, including (1) …

Beating The Employment Challenges: How Unemployed Youths Generate Income For Their Households, Gai Chol Paul

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Youth unemployment remains a global threat to the achievement of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. It impedes the fight to end poverty in all its forms, limits opportunities to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and undermines a country’s ability to reduce inequalities. In Sub-Saharan African nations, the unemployment rate is particularly high because the environment is prone to volatility caused by poor governance, chronic conflicts, and corruption. Unemployed graduates who lack effective strategies risk failing to generate income for themselves and their families. Thus, my purpose in this qualitative multiple case study, which was grounded in achievement motivation …

Talent Management And The Impact Of Dark Triad Personalities In The Workplace, Joseph A. Rosendale, Eliot Mastrovich, Leann Wilkie

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

This study examines links between the Dark Triad of personality types (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) and workplace behaviors. The research objective seeks to confirm the relationship between the Dark Triad and several negative behaviors while investigating positive externalities that have not been previously explored. A literature review covers the background of the Dark Triad, instruments that have been used to measure it, and ongoing research streams in the field. The Short Dark Triad (SD3) survey was administered to 142 working professionals and data collected were quantitatively examined using a variety of statistical tools in SPSS. Corresponding results provide additional evidence …

Perceptions Of Employability Skills Of Undergraduate Business Students In A Developing Country: An Exploratory Study, Wise Mainga, Reuben M. Daniel, Luis Alamil

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of different employability skills for business graduates seeking initial employment.

Method: Semi-structured survey questionnaires were administered to human resources representatives from industry, business lecturers, and graduating business students to determine gaps in perceptions between the three stakeholder groups.

Results: There was some alignment and moderate discrepancies in perceptions of the relative importance of different employability skills between the three stakeholder groups. There were statistically significant differences in perceived importance of communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills between graduating students and employers. There is evidence that employers were satisfied with …

Enabling Sustainable Organizational Change: A Case Of Cognitive Diversity In The Automotive Industry, Tonja Blom, Yvonne Du Plessis, Hamid H. Kazeroony

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

In diverse societies such as South Africa, organizations continue to face inclusion challenges when implementing change. This study proposes a different method and new dimension of diversity management within the cognitive diversity construct, namely human niche theory, to tackle the diversity dilemma of exclusivity. The research question asked whether human niche theory, as a defined concept within cognitive diversity, could be utilized by managers to enable inclusion and promote sustainable organizational change implementation. Conceptually, this paper relates human niche theory to seven themes in the change process, namely, communication, training, motivation, resources, control, monitoring, and feedback. An exploratory single case …

Exploring Diversity Management In Transnational Corporations Through The Lens Of Migration And Expatriation, Kingsley U. Utam, Uduak Archibong, Sean Walton, Cyril Eshareturi

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

In this study, we aim to develop an understanding of the similarity between migration and expatriation, identify both as elements in diversity, and draw attention to the additional layer of ethnic diversity created by the high number of top management expatriates in some Nigerian subsidiaries of transnational corporations. Using the qualitative research design, we thematically analysed data from semistructured interviews with six indigenous managers in four transnational corporations. We found a significant number of expatriate managers in two subsidiaries and a lack of diversity management framework to address the new layer of diversity as reflected in the unequal treatment of …

Application Of Expanded Technology Acceptance Model For Enhancing The Hris Usage In Smes, Serkan Bayraktaroglu, Vasfi Kahya, Erhan Atay, Habibe Ilhan

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Rapid developments and change have culminated new applications of information technologies. This trend is reflected in the plethora of innovative studies. Literature indicates that small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) perceive human resources information systems (HRIS) as complicated and time consuming, resulting in resistance from both users and employees. The purpose of this article is to identify necessary acceptance conditions for a successful implementation of the HRIS software within SMEs in Turkey. SMEs compose 99% of all companies in Turkey. Fierce rivalry within sectors gives rise to increased technology use to gain a competitive advantage. This study contributes to an efficient …

Virtual Proximity To Promote Expatriate Cultural Adjustment, Innovation, And The Reduction Of Stress Levels, Tom Coughlan, David J. Fogarty, Sara R. Fogarty

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Given the dramatic increase in the number of expatriates living and working abroad, there is a need to advance the research into how to make sure these employees achieve success on their assignments. Often, these expatriates assume managerial roles and are intended to be the gatekeepers of information. Typically, this information is necessary for the success of their colleagues, in both their home country and their host country. The expatriate’s role is to facilitate the integration of organizational knowledge from both their home and host countries, as well as key sources in their host country’s local environment. However, historically, there …

A Structural Equation Model Of Leader–Member Exchange, Employee–Supervisor Relationship, Performance Appraisal, And Career Development, William Joseph Henkel, Al C. Endres

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Some employees perceive that supervisors do not accurately reflect employees’ performance or effectively differentiate among employees’ performances during performance appraisals (PAs). Other employees believe the performance feedback they receive is not valuable for supporting their career development (CD). Leader–member exchange (LMX) and the distributive and interactional justice dimensions of organizational justice theories comprised the theoretical frameworks in this study for examining the significance of the relationships among LMX and employee–supervisor relationships (ESRs) and those relationships’ potential influence on employees’ CD through the PA process. Participants consisted of 44 defense contractor employees in the United States. Results from partial least squares …

Employee Perceptions Of Well-Being Programs, Alice V. Edwards, Susan Marcus

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Measuring the effectiveness of well-being programs in the workplace is important for optimizing the return on investment and selection of programs that meet organizational objectives. A pilot study was performed to assess employee well-being using the Happiness Mini-Survey and a one-sample pre–post study design intended to quickly allow employees to subjectively rate their well-being before and after participating in various classes as part of a well-being program. The findings demonstrated statistical significance in employee subjective ratings; they reported feeling better emotionally, physically, and mentally after participating in the classes. The employees’ self-rating for stress level also had statistically significant improvement …

A Multifaceted View Of Ceo Compensation And Performance: A Case Study, John Nirenberg

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

This case addresses CEO pay, a topic that annually stimulates the question of whether or not executive compensation is based on performance or something else and why it is so high in absolute terms. The societal impact of the new class of executives among the largest companies in the United States set apart from the rest of the world in a cocoon of wealth and privilege inflames resentment among workers, widens an already unfathomable distance between those at the top and the rest of us, and endangers the social amity among citizens of the polity . Positive social change might …

Strategies To Retain Millennial Employees At Full-Service Restaurants, Candace A. Ruiz, Anne Davis

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Some supervisors lack effective strategies to retain millennial-generation employees. The purpose of this multicase study was to explore effective strategies to retain culinary-educated millennial employees in a full-service restaurant. Nine millennials and three supervisors from three full-service restaurants in Denver, Colorado, consented to semistructured interviews concerning retention strategies. Herzberg’s two-factor theory served to guide the scope and the data analysis for the multicase study. Ten subcategories emerged from the three themes that aligned with Herzberg’s motivation factors, hygiene factors, and millennial values and attitudes. The 10 subcategories were developed suggesting effective strategies differ by supervisor. Among the 10 subcategories, the …

Nigerian Oil And Gas Industry Content Development Act’S Perceived Performance Impact, Olakunle Thomas Ayoola

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Petroleum-producing companies in Nigeria were forced to increase spending on Nigerian-sourced materials and services from $8 billion to $13 billion since 2010, due to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act that was implemented in 2010 to support local firms and improve the companies’ performance. There is sparse research on how the act affected the companies’ performance. This descriptive correlational study addressed the gap in the literature. Survey data from 372 employees of the five major petroleum-producing companies in Nigeria was analyzed. The study results indicated that the act had a positive effect on the employees’ internal competence …

A Case Study Exploration Of Strategies To Improve First-Line Supervisor Problem-Solving Abilities In The Retail Supermarket Industry, John E. Jarvis, Irene A. Williams

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

First-line supervisors in U.S. retail organizations are unable to resolve nearly 34% of typical daily customer problems for their organizations. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore the strategies retail supermarket managers have used to improve first-line supervisor problem solving abilities within a retail supermarket company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with four retail store manager participants with a successful record of improving first-line supervisor problem solving abilities. Based on inductive data analysis and methodological triangulation of the data collected, four themes emerged after the data analysis: (a) the importance of communicating expectations …

Effective Employee Engagement In The Workplace, Schrita Osborne, Mohamad S. Hammoud

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Disengaged employees typically cost U.S. corporations $350 billion annually. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies that some communication business leaders use to engage their employees. The target population consisted of four communication business leaders in Jackson, Mississippi, who possessed at least 1 year of successful employee engagement experience. The self-determination theory served as the study’s conceptual framework. Semistructured interviews were conducted, and the participating company’s archived documents were gathered. Patterns were identified through a rigorous process of data familiarization, data coding, and theme development and revision. Interpretations from the data were subjected to member-checking to ensure …

Book Review: New Age Globalization: Meaning And Metaphor By Aqueil Ahmad, Susan H. Jespersen

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

New Age Globalization examines interdependent and interconnected global society in terms of its structure, including both functional and process characteristics, with an underlying concern for global consciousness resulting in global social change for human welfare. The theoretical framework provides for analysis of history, culture, economics, demographics, political systems, conflicts, knowledge, and religions of regions throughout the world. This is a well-researched book with information on complex topics for the global researcher, corporate planning executive, human resource manager, and educator, among others seeking to understand social and organizational systems in our global world.

An Analysis Of Nontechnical Game Theory On Laboratory Sales Trainees In Saudi Arabia, Akram Abdul Cader

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

The purpose of this case study was to analyze 6 months of training application in a nontechnical game theory setting. Three laboratory sales trainees were studied using training reports that logged their strategic decisions and the amount of sales they obtained from their clients. A pure strategy game theory analysis was conducted on the decisions by the sales trainees. Two types of strategies were derived from the study: (a) allocentric and (b) egocentric. The egocentric strategies yielded higher personal payoffs, while the allocentric strategies yielded higher organizational payoffs. Training intervention was withheld during the 6-month period in order to allow …