Business Commons^™

Interpreting Organizational Survey Results: A Critical Application Of The Self-Serving Bias, Peter A. Hausdorf, Stephen D. Risavy, David J. Stanley

Organization Management Journal

Surveys are used extensively by researchers and practitioners in organizations to measure employee attitudes and assess organizational health. Survey items can reflect a wide range of topics including employee attitudes, perceptions of management, and organizational culture. Surprisingly, the issue of whether employee focused items produce more positive employee responses (vis-a`-vis manager or organization focused items) has received little attention. Specifically, there may be self-serving biases in organizational survey responses that may lead to inaccurate diagnosing of organizational problems. We assess the impact of self-serving biases on the pattern of employee responses to organizational surveys. Results from two studies suggest that …

Introduction To Linking Theory & Practice Section, Alvin Hwang

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Images Of Leadership: A New Exercise To Teach Leadership From A Social Constructionist Perspective, Christopher I. Maxwell, Anne M. Greenhalgh

Organization Management Journal

Adopting a social constructionist approach to the teaching of leadership, we asked students in a required course in management to find or create and submit a digital image that captures leadership as they see it. Our intention was to help students understand their own perceptions of leadership and to see how their perceptions compare to those of others. We have run this exercise for the last 10 years (2000–2009), and to date we have collected 5037 digital images. These images are used throughout the course to demonstrate the relevance of the subject, to enrich the discussion of leadership theories, to …

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, And Other Powerful Web Tools For Classrooms Will Richardson, Corwin, Thousand Oaks, Ca, 2010, 171pp., Keith W. Hamon

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Relation-Specific Creative Performance In Voluntary Collaborations: A Micro-Foundation For Competitive Advantage?, Terence Ping Ching Fan, Duncan Robertson

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A fundamental question in the strategy literature is how sustainable competitive advantage can be generated within one firm and yet difficult to copy by another. We offer one solution to this conundrum by way of relation-specific performance that is developed in creative projects – where the individuals involved have significant latitude on the intended objectives as well as their collaborators on these projects. Because higher-level cognition is involved in navigating such projects from conception to implementation, there is heightened relation-specificity in their performance – as measured by how widely they are adopted by third-party users. This relationspecificity means that any …

Embeddedness And New Idea Discussion In Professional Networks: The Mediating Role Of Affect-Based Trust, Roy Y. J. Chua, Michael W. Morris, Paul Ingram

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article examines how managers' tendency to discuss new ideas with others in their professional networks depends on the density of shared ties surrounding a given relationship. Consistent with prior research which found that embeddedness enhances information flow, an egocentric network survey of mid-level executives shows that managers tend to discuss new ideas with those who are densely embedded in their professional networks. More specifically, embeddedness increases the likelihood to discuss new ideas by engendering affect-based trust, as opposed to cognition-based trust. Implications for network and creativity research are discussed.

Situational Judgment Tests As A New Tool For Dental Student Selection, Tine Buyse, Filip Lievens

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Cognitive tests are used to select students into dental school, yet cognitive predictors explain only part of the variance in academic performance. Therefore, interviews and personality tests are often used to measure noncognitive (e.g., interpersonal) characteristics. Recently, situational judgment tests (SJTs) have drawn attention since there is evidence that SJTs can be valid predictors in medical admission contexts. This study examines the validity of an SJT measuring interpersonal skills for predicting academic performance of dental students. Incremental validity over cognitive tests is also examined. In this study, 796 dental students who passed the admission exam for medical and dental students …

Knots Of Knowledge: How Community-Based Organizations Advance Social Change, Jennifer Cohen

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Building on existing literature and research that identify nonprofits as agents of democracy, this research explores how community-based organizations (CBOs) advance social change. Strategically placed to improve social and economic security for individuals, families, and communities, CBOs have unique characteristics, successes, and challenges. The study seeks to understand, document, and apply these in building theories for use by practitioners, academics, public officials, and people living the experiences that public policies address. The research articulates a new model of social change, wherein individual transformation, organizational growth, community strengthening, and public policy work together in dynamic and complementary spheres.

The methodology is …

A Macro Perspective To Micro Issues, Devasheesh P. Bhave, Stephane Brutus

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Comments on an article by Elaine D. Pulakos and Ryan S. O'Leary. The authors argue that bringing the focus on the relationship between the manager and the employee will mend performance management. We concur with the broad assessment that an excessive focus on technical improvements in performance management systems is misplaced and that implementation issues plague performance management. But we believe that poor implementation is an operational challenge not because of the practice itself but rather on account of misalignment. They also allude to a consideration of alignment. They also glosses over the issue of internal alignment or the fact …

The Use Of Role-Player Prompts In Assessment Center Exercises, Eveline Schollaert, Filip Lievens

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

So far, a substantial amount of assessment center (AC) studies have aimed to improve the quality of the AC method by focusing on the assessors. However, systematic studies about the role-player in AC exercises are nonexistent. This is surprising as the role-player might serve as a key figure for consistently evoking job-relevant behavior across candidates. Therefore, this study focused on the 'role' of role-players in ACs. We examined the effects of instructing role-players to use prompts among 233 candidates. Results suggest that role-players are able to use prompts and that their negative impact on candidates' reactions is negligible. In addition, …

Leadership & Organizational Change, Terri A. Scandura Phd, Monica Sharif

Management Faculty Articles and Papers

In recent years, change has occurred within almost all organizations. Downsizing, relocations, restructuring, technological changes, mergers, process-oriented changes and people-oriented changes are happening on a daily basis. Therefore it is necessary to study the influence organizational change has on important organizational variables. We conducted a study examining reactions to different types of organizational change. We specifically looked at the extent to which employees trust their organization during different types of organizational change.

A Multilevel Examination Of Proactive Work Behaviors: Contextual And Individual Differences As Antecedents, Travis P. Searle

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this study, the process through which individual differences (i.e., proactive personality, psychological empowerment, and servant leader characteristics at level-1) and contextual differences (i.e., servant leadership characteristics at level-2) are antecedents to proactive work behaviors (i.e., problem prevention, individual innovation, voice, and taking charge) was tested. Results indicated that psychological empowerment partially mediated the relationship between proactive personality and individual innovation. Psychological empowerment fully mediated the relationship between proactive personality and taking charge. Proactive personality was indirectly related to problem prevention, via psychological empowerment. Psychological empowerment was directly related to voice. In addition, servant leader characteristics at level-1 were positively …

The Organizational Creativity Actualization Model: A Book Proposal, Russell Schneck

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project consists of a book proposal, including two sample chapters, that provides a vision for how organizations can effectively use creativity and creative thinking to address the rapid escalation of complexity. The working title for the book is: The Creativity Organization: Responding to the Challenges and Opportunities of Complexity. The book will explore the organizational development requirements and programs necessary to transform an organizational culture so that it will consistently and sustainably develop and support creativity. At the foundation of this discussion is the Organizational Creativity Actualization Model (OCAM). This model considers organizational creativity as a system of …

Conflict Management Education In Medicine: Considerations For Curriculum Designers, Jeffery Kaufman

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

It is important to address conflict in the medical field for a variety of reasons ranging from reducing turnover to increasing the quality of care received by patients. One way to assist with the management of medical conflict is by teaching resolution techniques to medical personnel. There is an opportunity for conflict management curriculum to address many of the issues facing physicians, administrators, staff and patients, however, it is also necessary for those developing that curriculum to understand the nature of the environment and appropriate conflict management tools to be used in that environment as part of the design process. …

Uncovering Hidden Profiles; Managerial Interventions For Discovering Superior Decision Alternatives, Brian D. Waddell

Honors Projects in Management

A common reason for the use of teams in organizations is the idea that each individual can bring a unique perspective to the decision task; however, research shows that teams often fail to surface and use unique information to evaluate decision alternatives. Under a condition known as the hidden profile, each member uniquely possesses a critical clue needed to uncover the superior solution. Failure to share and adequately evaluate this information will result in poor decision quality. In order to mitigate this team decision-making bias, the present study utilizes experimental research to examine the impact of the devil’s advocacy technique …

The Importance Of Course Offerings On The Topic Of Environmental Sustainability At The University Of Rhode Island, Sarah Kane

Senior Honors Projects

For my project, I created a survey for University of Rhode Island students’ exploring their experiences and interest in course offerings on sustainability.  I am distributing it to students through different mediums such as email, Facebook and in person. Through my analysis of the results, I am seeking some evidence about whether or not students at this institute feel that our school offers enough courses on this topic and whether or not students are interested in taking courses on this topic.

As a business major, I have taken several courses where we learned about surveying and analysis of the results. …

A Self-Organizing Group Within A Hierarchical Organization, Sheila Yuter

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was conducted to discover and describe the characteristics of a community of practice (CoP) and the health care system within which it formed. The study explored the relationship between a CoP of primary care physicians and a health care system that was both a hierarchical organization and a complex adaptive entity. It further examined the impact that relationship may have had on the organization’s sustainability within its environment.

A qualitative approach was used for the collection and analysis of data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four members of the CoP and three members of their administrative hierarchy. There …

The Creative Coach: Exploring The Synergies Between Creative Problem Solving: Thinking Skills Model And Non-Directive Coaching, Trevor J. Mcalpine

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project looks at the similarities and differences between the most recent version of Creative Problem Solving called Creative Problem Solving: Thinking Skills Model and the approach to coaching known as Non-Directive Coaching. Creativity practitioners are challenged to find opportunities of engaging in formal full-blown, group-based Creative Problem Solving sessions. There is a need to find other, less formal ways of helping people use their creativity. The Thinking Skills Model’s design allows it to mesh with the creative process in other content areas by making the basic concepts of Creative Problem Solving transferable to those other contexts. Non-Directive Coaching …

Competitive Groups As Cognitive Communities: The Case Of Scottish Knitwear Manufacturers Revisited, Joseph F. Porac, Howard Thomas, Charles Baden-Fuller

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this paper we reflect on the contribution of our 1989 article ‘Competitive Groups as Cognitive Communities: The Case of Scottish Knitwear Manufacturers’. We begin by recalling our backgrounds and motivations as collaborators on the project, and then discuss recent developments in the Scottish Borders knitwear industry. Noting that the industry has suffered continual decline in the twenty years since we published our paper, we suggest that the case still raises issues that remain open questions in the field despite the significant efforts by management researchers in recent years to understand the sources of industrial decline and revitalization. We outline …

Engaging Knowledge Management Learners Through Web-Based Ict: An Empirical Study, Thomas Menkhoff, Tze Yian Thang, Yue Wah Chay, Yue Kee Wong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The purpose of this paper is to examine how to successfully blend an e-learning module into a knowledge management (KM) course aimed at getting KM students interested in the respective subject matter (=KM) in a web-based learning environment. Based on data obtained from 138 undergraduate business management students at a university in Singapore, practical aspects of effectively implementing an e-learning system with a focus on KM are analyzed and the importance determined of three conceptual variables in the context of successful blended learning approaches: online faculty to student interaction, social presence and personal e-learning experiences. The study shows some positive …

The Impact Of Underemployment On Individual And Organizational Performance, Michael R. Bashshur, Ana Hernandez

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The issue of underemployment is one of increasing concern for countries across the globe. For example, in the USA estimates have put the number of underemployed as high as 20.3%, while in Europe the number of overqualified workers (just one dimension of underemployment) has been estimated at 21.5% (Groot & Maassen van den Brink, 2000). Unfortunately, given the current global economic crisis, this situation can only be expected to worsen in the near future. The international labor pool is becoming more educated and qualified (Peiró, Agut, & Grau, 2010) while organizations worldwide are seeking the minimum effective level of human …

A Different Look At Why Selection Procedures Work: The Role Of Candidates' Ability To Identify Criteria, Martin Kleinmann, Pia V. Ingold, Filip Lievens, Anne Jansen, Klaus G Melchers, Cornelius J. Konig

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Personnel selection procedures such as assessment centers, structured interviews, and personality inventories are useful predictors of candidates' job performance. In addition to existing explanations for their criterion-related validity, we suggest that candidates' ability to identify the criteria used to evaluate their performance during a selection procedure contributes to the criterion-related validity of these procedures. Conceptually, the ability to identify criteria can be framed in the broader literature on peoples' ability to read situational cues. We draw on both theory and empirical research to outline the potential this ability has to account for selection results and job performance outcomes. Finally, implications …

Investment Styles, Fees, & Returns Among Individually Managed & Team Managed Mutual Funds, Kendal Cehanowicz

Honors Projects in Finance

Identifying a successful mutual fund investment involves a crucial analysis of alternatives, all of which influence the true benefit of the investment. Major considerations must include performance, management and fees; which ultimately determine investment returns. Studies have shown that team managed mutual funds exhibit similar risk adjusted performance to individually managed mutual funds, however studies lack this comparison of performance based on fund fees and investment objective. This gap in research implies that there is an opportunity to examine how fund management, investment objective, and fund fees affect overall returns to the investor. Using the 2010 Center for Research in …

Making Sense Of Health Care Planning In Ireland; The Street Level Public Organization (Slpo)., Vivienne Byers

Conference Papers

One of the central mechanisms of the Strategic Management Initiative (SMI) (Government of Ireland 1996) is the devolution of accountability and responsibility from the centre to executive agencies. Service planning was introduced in the Irish health care sector as part of this strategic planning ethos. This paper reports on a study that examined both the intent and the consequences of implementing legislatively mandated planning in the Irish health services, in the context of significant organizational change. In an effort to draw broader lessons, a comparison is drawn with the Canadian experience of service planning.

The choice was made to study …

Cosmopolitans Or Locals: Who Will Lead The Next Generation Of Community Colleges?, Melanie O. Anderson

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Scholars have identified a potential community college leadership crisis as a large percentage of community college presidents prepare to retire (Shults, 2001; Weisman & Vaughan, 2007). The most common pathway to the community college presidency has been through the chief academic officer (CAO) position (Vaughan, 1990).

Selection of future leaders often focuses on manifest social roles or the expectations that are universally shared and relevant to a given context (Grimes & Berger, 1970). Latent social roles are the internalized shared expectations that are not always seen as relevant on face value, but are predicted to affect an individual’s attitudes and …

Commercial Patterns And Spatial Networks In Hanoi’S Old Quarter: A Case Study Of Vendors On Lan Ong Street, Daniel Weiner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Walking the streets of the Hanoi’s Old Quarter, one can easily begin to question the economic viability of the area’s commercial pattern. That is, how can multiple stores that sell the exact same products coexist in such a densely concentrated arena? Why do traders with the same goods choose to locate next to each other? Through a literature review of the history of Hanoi’s Old Quarter as well as a case study of the vendors on Lan Ong Street, I examine the purpose and the functionality of the Old Quarter’s spatial structure. I find that the vendors in the Old …

Organizational Culture In Wisconsin Large Law Firms, Susan Balzer Spoerk

Professional Projects

Culture can be defined as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group or category of people from another. Organizational culture is an idea in the field of organizational studies and management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. There are many studies on Organizational Culture applied to corporations. There are very few studies of Organizational Culture applied to law firms. This is a study of Organizational Culture in Wisconsin Large Law Firms. This study does not attempt to define specific cultural knowledge of large Wisconsin law firms but …

Competing Values In The Culinary Arts And Hospitality Industry: Leadership Roles And Managerial Competencies, Michael W. Riggs, Aaron W. Hughey

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

It is important that education and training programmes align with the needs of the professions they are designed to support. The culinary arts and hospitality industry is a vocational area that needs to be examined more closely to ensure that the skills and competencies taught are those that will actually be needed when students matriculate from career preparation programmes. This study compared the self-assessed leadership roles and managerial competencies of hospitality students and hospitality management professionals in employment. Using the Competing Values Framework (CVF) as a theoretical framework, eight leadership roles and 24 managerial competencies were examined in an effort …

Partial Budgeting Analysis Of Conventional Pump Over Versus Pulsair Cap Management System For A Large–Scale California Winery, Zachary Thomas Hicks

Agribusiness

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the financial feasibility of implementing an automated gas injection system from Pulsair as an alternative to the traditional pump over cap mixing technique that is used during the alcoholic fermentation stage of winemaking.

There were various costs involved in this project that were determined and explained through the use of the partial budgeting method. The costs that were thoroughly analyzed included equipment, labor, utility, and initial investment costs for the Pulsair system as well as the related pump over operation costs. After the two methods associated numbers were evaluated, they were then …

Coping With Customer Sexual Harassment: Examining Retaliation As A Coping Strategy And Testing A Contextual Model, Valerie J. Morganson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Research has established that customer sexual harassment (CSH) is a widespread and harmful workplace phenomenon. This dissertation consists of two studies on the topic. The first sought to operationalize a measure of coping with customer sexual harassment. In addition to three traditional factors of sexual harassment coping (i.e., external, internal, and social), Study 1 predicted that worker retaliation toward the customer would constitute an additional form of coping with CSH. The measure of coping was tested using a sample of 200 women customer service workers. Data were analyzed using factor analysis. As expected, retaliation was supported as a coping strategy, …