Organizational Communication Commons^™

Strategic Recovery Requires Leadership, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

As public managers work toward a successful recovery post-midyear elections, we all must deal with system-wide problems arising from the recession. This requires first recognizing that the crisis continues and must be addressed not just by increasing revenue but by fixing system-wide structural and operational issues.

To do so involves developing the skills required in a recovery, identifying the causes of the crisis so that future crises can be better managed and concentrating on the key areas of leadership expertise needed to effectively communicate and deliver better outcomes.

Antecedents Of Servant Leadership: A Mixed Methods Study, Curtis D. Beck

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

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the antecedents of servant leadership. The sequential explanatory research design consisted of two distinct phases: quantitative followed by qualitative. The Phase One quantitative survey collected data from 499 leaders and 630 raters from community leadership programs in the United States using the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (Barbuto & Wheeler, 2006). During Phase Two, selected leaders from phase one (N = 12) were interviewed to explain those results in more depth. The data were coded and analyzed for possible themes. Triangulation was used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data to validate …

Describing Who Is Reading Omj And What You Can Expect In This Issue – Lean Engineering, Emotional Intelligence, And Management Education, William P. Ferris

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Comments By Elizabeth F. Turesky And Patrick Connell On “Ariens: A Lean Case Study” By Hartwell And Roth, Elizabeth F. Turesky, Patrick Connell

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Bringing Together The Three Major Emotional Intelligence Paradigms, William P. Ferris

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Off The Rails: Understanding The Derailment Of A Lean Manufacturing Initiative, Elizabeth F. Turesky, Patrick Connell

Organization Management Journal

This study focuses on why lean manufacturing change initiatives at a Northern New England company failed to produce sustained results. Consultants and leaders share responsibility for the sustainability of the change initiatives they undertake. Rationally, neither party would undertake a change initiative with the intent to fail, yet clearly, even highly structured and well-tested initiatives often do fail (derail) in practice. This research used an observational methodology to uncover answers to the question, “what are the key factors that can cause the derailment of a well-intended, highly-structured change initiative?” In addition to consistency with findings from other studies on sustaining …

Doing More With Less At Ariens: A Leadership And Transformation Case Study, Jennifer K. Hartwell, George Roth

Organization Management Journal

Ariens is a family-owned manufacturer of lawn and snow equipment that designs, manufactures, sells, distributes, and supports its products in the United States, and more recently, internationally. Ariens faced and overcame a number of difficult challenges over the last decade by adopting and sustaining lean production principles throughout the organization, as well as with its suppliers and customers. This case study describes earlier business challenges, the changes that were made, how they were led, and the response of the workforce. The case study focuses on the period from 1998 to 2005, and a post-script updates what has happened up through …

Comments By George Roth And Jennifer Hartwell On “Off The Rails: Understanding The Derailment Of A Lean Manufacturing Initiative” By Turesky And Connell, Jennifer K. Hartwell, George Roth

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Best Experiential Exercise For 2009: A Focus On Justice, Donald E. Gibson

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Teaching & Learning Section, Steven I. Meisel

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Developing The Competencies Of Interactional Justice, Kevin Farmer, Steven I. Meisel

Organization Management Journal

Grounded in social exchange theory, interpersonal and informational justice (collectively “IJ”) reflect the degree to which people affected by organizational decision makers perceive that they have been treated in a dignified and informative manner. Empirical research shows that IJ is positively correlated with myriad beneficial organizational outcomes (e.g., performance, job satisfaction and trust in authority figures) and negatively correlated with several noxious ones (e.g., withdrawal, negative reaction to decisions). The presence of IJ is an important mitigating factor in accepting negative organizational outcomes. In addition, the negative impact of injustice on an individual’s self-esteem can have profound implications for relationships …

Management As A Contextual Practice: The Need To Blend Science, Skills And Practical Wisdom, Jon Billsberry, Andreas Birnik

Organization Management Journal

This paper contributes to the debate regarding whether or not management is, or should become, a profession. Using the principles of dialectic logic, arguments for the thesis that management is a profession and the antithesis that management is more akin to an art or a craft are critically reviewed. Aristotle’s intellectual virtues episteme (science), techne (skills) and phronesis (practical wisdom) are introduced as a synthesis to this debate. Rather than characterizing management as a profession, it is argued that management is a contextual practice that requires a blend of all three intellectual virtues.

Eliciting The Principles Of Effective Lean Change Methods Through Research Cases And Authors’ Commentaries, Alvin Hwang

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

An Integrative Model Of Emotional Intelligence: Emotional Ability As A Moderator Of The Mediated Relationship Of Emotional Quotient And Emotional Competence, Craig R. Seal, Adrianna Andrews-Brown

Organization Management Journal

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new theoretical and empirical model of emotional intelligence (EI) that incorporates the dominant paradigms in the field today – Bar-On (1988) emotional quotient (EQ), Mayer and Salovey (1990) emotional ability, and Goleman (1995) emotional competence – using a moderated-mediation framework. The paper proposes that emotional ability (potential capacity) has a moderating effect on the mediated relationship of EQ (preferred patterns) and emotional competence (actual behaviors) on performance outcomes. The proposal potentially resolves the content domain and nomological network concerns by incorporating the three paradigms into an integrative model of EI.

Measure For Measure? Navigating Judgment And Taboos In Teaching And Research, Sally Riad, Michael Elmes

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Our Biggest Issue Yet, William P. Ferris

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Negative Judgments: Reflections On Teaching Reflective Practice, Steven S. Taylor

Organization Management Journal

Teaching reflective practice places difficult demands on the teacher as it seems to inevitably highlight the teacher’s own ability, or lack thereof, to be a reflective practitioner. In this article, I reflect upon a time when I was teaching reflective practice online and a student and I made negative judgments about each other. I found that my negative judgments were primarily based in a tacit assumption that I am right (and the student was wrong) and a fear of failing as a teacher. By being tacit, they are hidden from possible inquiry. An important aspect of my own defensive behavior …

Two To The Power Of Three: An Exploration Of Metaphor For Sense Making In (Women’S) Collaborative Inquiry, Louise Grisoni, Margaret Page

Organization Management Journal

This paper explores how working with metaphors provides a way to explore under the surface dynamics embedded in the practice and processes of collaborative inquiry. We argue that metaphors are a form of presentational knowing and provide a bridge between experiential knowing and propositional knowing. We have surfaced an exploration of horizontal (sibling) and vertical relations using retrospective inquiry. This paper demonstrates the reality, messiness and politics of collaborative research inquiry processes, which tend to be understudied and under-theorized. We are concerned to affirm the value of collaborative inquiry, and at the same time, break some taboos and myths concerning …

Introduction To The Teaching & Learning Section, Steven Meisel

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Starting With Howard Gardner’S Five Minds, Adding Elliott Jaques’S Responsibility Time Span: Implications For Undergraduate Management Education, Diana Stork, Jill Woodilla, Stephen M. Brown, John Ogilvie, Regina Rutter, Mary Trefry

Organization Management Journal

This article offers a perspective on management education derived from Howard Gardner’s five minds framework and Elliott Jaques’s responsibility time span. We describe the five minds (disciplined, synthesizing, creating, respectful, and ethical) and discuss some of the criticisms raised about Gardner’s approach. We introduce Jaques’s time span concept and suggest its applicability to the structuring of roles in a school of management. Putting Jacques together with Gardner allows us to explore questions about the five minds that could be addressed by deans, department chairs, and faculty members, each with a different responsibility time span.

Introduction To Research Of Note Section, Kristin Backhaus

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

‘‘Is The Socially Responsible Corporation A Myth? The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of Corporate Social Responsibility’’ By Timothy M. Devinney In Academy Of Management Perspectives, May 2009, Kathleen R. Johnson

Organization Management Journal

The following review provides a summary of and comment on Timothy M. Devinney’s article entitled ‘‘Is the Socially Responsible Corporation a Myth? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Corporate Social Responsibility.’’ I argue that Devinney provides a convincing explanation for the failure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in current predatory, oligopolistic business practices. His exposition provides an initial and necessary first step towards addressing the inequitable systems of organization that contribute to our social and environmental problems.

Introduction To Linking Theory & Practice Section, Alvin Hwang

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Strategic Transformation Process: Toward Purpose, People, Process And Power, Elizabeth B. Davis, James Kee, Kathryn Newcomer

Organization Management Journal

Across the world, public and non-profit sector leaders face an extremely turbulent socio-political-economic environment. This environment creates additional risks and uncertainties for organizations and may hinder a leader’s ability to act strategically. Addressing these complex, constantly evolving conditions requires leaders to develop processes that involve the organization’s stakeholders and that create organizational conditions for self-generation, creativity, resilience and action planning. In this paper we provide an organizational-level, integrative framework for the strategic transformation of public and non-profit organizations to assist leaders who are committed to effective stewardship of their organizations. The Strategic Transformation Process involves an intense dialogue among organizational …

A Review Of Research On Online And Blended Learning In The Management Disciplines: 1994–2009, Jb Arbaugh, Ashay Desai, Barbara Rau, Balakuntalam S. Sridhar

Organization Management Journal

This paper reviews studies of online and blended learning in managementoriented disciplines and management-related topics. The review shows that over the last decade, this emerging field has seen dramatic conceptual, methodological, and analytical advances. However, these advances have progressed within the particular disciplines at uneven rates. Studies examining courses in Organizational Behavior and Strategic Management have seen the most progress, with courses in Human Resources, Operations Management, and International Management receiving lesser attention. To date, studies of courses in Entrepreneurship are next to non-existent. Our review suggests that although several multi-course studies have been published, there is ample opportunity for …

Think Global, Act Local: A Methodology For Investigating International Business Curriculum Priorities Using Stakeholder Feedback, Jeanie M. Forray, Janelle E. Goodnight

Organization Management Journal

Business schools are engaged increasingly in the development and improvement of international business programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Often, such efforts are based on ‘‘how to’’ recommendations from experts in the field or ‘‘best practices’’ from other institutions. In an effort to better address the specific needs of individual institutions, this article suggests an evidence-based methodology for curricular design and describes one study of local constituency needs used to inform improvement efforts of an existing undergraduate international business program at a small, private college in the Northeast. Based on the findings, the authors describe changes in their school’s …

Contingency Theory Of Strategic Conflict Management: Unearthing Factors That Influence Ethical Elocution In Crisis Communication, Augustine Pang, Yan Jin, Glen T. Cameron

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Despite the advances made offering a viable perspective in strategic conflict management, the contingency theory has not addressed a prevailing question: How can the theory inform organizations to communicate ethically with its publics, especially during crisis? The only guidance the theory offers is through its proscriptive variables, which prohibit either communication or more accommodative communication. However, given the exigency and dynamism of many situations along the life cycle of an issue, non-communicating may not be an alternative offered to organizations. This study aims to unearth a new set of factors called ethical variables that influence the organization’s stance by reviewing …

Facilitators And Obstacles Of Intercultural Business Communication For American Companies In China: Lessons Learned From The Ups Case, Hongmei Gao, Penelope Prime

Faculty Articles

This article analyzes how the execution of business strategy for global enterprises is shaped by the dual challenges of communicating in a different national culture and working in a changing economic environment. The article develops a framework from the UPS case in China to illustrate the key components of strategy for US companies operating businesses in China. The article proposes that Chinese-American communication effectiveness can be achieved through overcoming five obstacles: cultural multiplicity, relationship/ task orientation, time concept, business style difference, and language use, while utilizing five facilitators:pragmatism, gender equality, English, American pop culture, and a "big country mentality."

The Situated Production Of Stories, David Greatbatch, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

At a general level storytelling is a pervasive feature of everyday discourse both within and outside organisations. Existing research on organisational stories indicates that they are not simply frivolous diversions that seek to amaze and entertain the recipients. Rather they may serve a number of important functions for organisations, which include socialising new organisational members by articulating the culture of an organisation; assisting with the development and verbalisation of visions and strategies; helping develop points of similarity within disparate and dispersed organisational groups; sustaining and legitimating existing power relationships as well as providing opportunities for resistance against them; and acting …

A Bevy Of Hot Button Issues, William P. Ferris

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.