Business Commons^™

Different Minds And Common Problems: Geert Hofstede's Research On National Cultures, Carol M. Sanchez, Dawn M. Curtis

Peer Reviewed Articles

This article discusses Geert Hofstede's work on national cultural differences. It explains how Hofstede's model of the dimensions of national culture might be of use to performance improvement professionals as they try to solve familiar, and perhaps not so familiar, problems in international settings. Hofstede's work, first published in 1980, argues that many management theories, such as those of Herzberr, Mausner, and Snyderman (1959), Maslow (1970), and McGregor (1960), are not valid worldwide be cause the authors are subject to cultural bias that is manifested in their own cultural makeup. Hofstede's research has shown that national cultures tend vary on …

Performance Improvement In International Environments: Designing Individual Performance Interventions To Fit National Cultures, Carol M. Sanchez

Peer Reviewed Articles

This article examines how internationalization might affect the design of individual performance improvement approaches in organizations. It begins by examining knowledge that has been learned principally from the North American context of what improves an individual's performance. Then, we discuss motivators, attitudes. and behaviors of workers and how they may vary among workers in different national cultural contexts. In short, we examine individual performance improvement for its cross‐border effectiveness, using various models of national cultural differences. By doing this, we hope to provide an understanding of how performance improvement systems might require modification to fit with non‐North American work environments.

The Strategic Organization Of Global Law Firms : Perceptions From Inside And Outside The Firm, Carol M. Sanchez

Peer Reviewed Articles

During the past decade, the legal services industry has undergone a sea change, in large part due to the globalization of business. Law firms, especially those headquartered in major financial centers, are expanding overseas at a fast and furious pace in an attempt to accommodate their clients’ needs and to capture a share of new and emerging markets for legal services. The increasing importance of the European Union as a new source of pan-European or “federal” law, and the establishment of a common currency, the Euro, has spurred many firms to open offices in Brussels, Frankfurt and other centers of …

Corporate Governance And Corporate Illegality: The Effects Of Board Structure On Environmental Violations, Marie A. Mckendall, Carol M. Sanchez, Paul Sicilian

Peer Reviewed Articles

This paper examined the effects of corporate governance structures on the incidence of corporate illegality by analyzing the relationship between environmental violations and several dimensions of corporate board structure. Results demonstrated that the value of stock owned by corporate officers and directors was positively and significantly associated with serious environmental violations. Outsider dominance, joint CEO‐Chairpersons, social responsibility committees, and attorneys on boards were not significantly related to corporate illegal behavior. The control variables of size, industry profitability, firm profitability, and industry concentration were all significantly related to environmental violations. The findings involving board structure cast doubt on the efficacy of …

Continuous Quality Improvement, Total Quality Management, And Reengineering: One Hospital’S Continuous Quality Improvement Journey, Donald Klein, Jaideep Motwani, Beth Cole

Peer Reviewed Articles

In recent years, there has been significantly increasing interest in the application of continuous quality improvement (CQI) and total quality management (TQM) in the health care arena. This case analysis is designed to identify and assess the strategies and processes that led to the successful implementation of CQI in the Emergency Care Center at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI.

Environmental Change And Management Staffing: An Empirical Examination Of The Electric Utilities Industry, Ram Subramanian, Carol M. Sanchez

Peer Reviewed Articles

This paper examines the relationship between environmental change, changes in competitive dynamics, and top management staffing in the electric utilities industry during the period surrounding the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct 92). The findings suggest that following the passage of the EPAct 92, competition in the electric utilities industry intensified placing greater emphasis on achieving internal, firm-level efficiencies. This external environmental change and the corresponding shift in the competitive context resulted in an adjustment in the composition of the top management coalition in these firms. The dominant coalition following the EPAct 92 consisted of older managers …

Environmental Regulatory Influence And Product Innovation: The Contingency Effects Of Organizational Characteristics, Carol M. Sanchez, William Mckinley

Peer Reviewed Articles

This paper examines the relationship between environmental regulatory influence and product innovation in a multi-industry sample of manufacturing organizations. Our theory argues that the influence of environmental regulation on the level of product innovation in a manufacturing organization is at least partially contingent on the organization's internal characteristics -- in particular, its structural flexibility and production process flexibility. Hypotheses are derived from our theory and tested, and the results are consistent with the conclusion that structural flexibility and production process flexibility moderate the environmental regulatory influence-product innovation relationship. Whether environmental regulation inhibits or promotes product innovation seems to depend at …

Environmental Regulation And Firm-Level Innovation: The Moderating Effects Of Organizational And Individual-Level Variables, Carol M. Sanchez

Peer Reviewed Articles

Many analysts argue that environmental regulation is a barrier to innovation in business firms. A competing view holds that environmental regulation contributes to firm-level innovation. This article attempts to partially reconcile these two views. The article argues that organizational- and individual-level variables moderate the effect of environmental regulation generally on the radicalness of innovation at the firm level. It proposes that four moderating variables--the degree to which information analysis about environment issues is centralized, firm size, the intensity and integration of research and development (R&D) units within the firm, and whether regulation is perceived as an opportunity--change the sign of …

Environmental Regulatory Impact And Firm-Level Innovation: A Study Of Electric Utilities' Responses To The Clean Air Act Amendments Of 1990, Carol M. Sánchez

Peer Reviewed Articles

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Product Regulation On Business Global Competitiveness: A Contingency Approach, Carol M. Sanchez

Peer Reviewed Articles

This paper focuses on product regulation, which is one important type of regulation that influences business firms. We develop a theoretical model that describes the effect of product regulation on the global competitiveness of business. Special emphasis is given to the contingency effects of several variables on the relationship between product regulation and business global competitiveness. We derive three propositions about these contingency effects, and also discuss higher-order interactions that may occur between the contingency. The overall thrust of our argument is to question the universality of the assumption that regulation is detrimental to business competitiveness.

Organizational Downsizing: Constraining, Cloning, Learning, William Mckinley, Carol M. Sanchez, Allen G. Schick

Peer Reviewed Articles

While downsizing rages through the U.S. economy, there is a great deal of uncertainty about its bottom-line effects. This uncertainty raises questions about why corporations have been so eager to engage in downsizing. In this article, we propose an answer to these questions. Three social forces, which we call constraining, cloning and learning, frequently provide a major impetus for downsizing. We describe these forces, and point out conditions that lead to the adoption of downsizing without due regard for its mixed consequences. We suggest methods to improve executives' downsizing decision routines ... methods that should enhance the chances of achieving …

Diversity Management: An Administrative Case Study In A Tax-Exempt Human Service Organization, Jerry L. Johnson

Masters Theses

Diversity management is a business strategy that is intended to create an organizational climate where people from diverse backgrounds can succeed based on their work performance and not their personal similarities or differences with the organization's leadership. Diversity management programs are intended to help business remove barriers resulting from discrimination.; The present study investigated the need for a diversity management program in a tax-exempt human service organization. The perceptions and attitudes of organization employees, measured by survey instruments, in conjunction with an employee compensation study, provided the data for this investigation.; The instrument designed for this study and the random …

A Course In "Work-Force Diversity": Strategies And Issues, Marie Mckendall

Peer Reviewed Articles

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Therapeutic Relationship As A Personal Relationship, Barbara A. Winstead, Valerian J. Derlega, Robin J. Lewis, Stephen T. Margulis

Peer Reviewed Articles

Theories of personal relationships are reviews to help us understand the therapeutic relationship as a personal relationship: Chambliss's (1965) theory of friendship which focuses on impression management; Kelley & Thibaut's (1978) theory of interdependence and Rusbult's (1980a) investment model of relationship satisfaction and commitment which focus on social exchange processes; and Levinger's (Levinger & Snoek, 1972) incremental exchange theory which focuses on developmental changes in a relationship. Taking these theories into consideration enables us to view psychotherapy as a personal relationship and suggests avenues for research and hypothesis testing. Conversely, the unique characteristics of therapy as a personal but asymmetric …

The Oral Interview As A Predictor Of Academic Performance In A Preservice Law Enforcement Training Program, M. Nicholas Meier

Masters Theses

The oral interview is a standard technique used in the selection of police officers and the prediction of their subsequent academy and on the job performance. This study attempted to construct a model that could accurately predict academic performance from oral interview performance in a preservice law enforcement training program. Previous research in the use of the oral interview as a predictor of academic performance has produced conflicting results.

The sample in this study consisted of 159 candidates accepted by an oral interview board for training in a preservice police academy. Average academic performance was correlated to scores on an …