This paper aims to explore how employees reconceptualized their time and space to order and structure their lives in an unprecedented scenario of nonvoluntary work from home.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how employees reconceptualized their time and space to order and structure their lives in an unprecedented scenario of nonvoluntary work from home.
Design/methodology/approach
Set in the context of lockdowns due to the pandemic scenario, the study uses a constructivist approach to collect data through in-depth online interviews to understand how employees coped with the challenges emanating in a nonvoluntary work from home situation. The respondents were purposively selected to reflect a diverse pool in terms of gender, familial responsibilities and age/tenure.
Findings
The findings present temporal and spatial themes that provide several insights into how employees made sense of time and space as resources to navigate their challenging work-home roles.
Research limitations/implications
In the present study, the authors found that when boundaries get violated, it does not necessarily manifest in the form of dissatisfaction with one or the other domain. The respondents in the current study show-cased adjustment mechanism to cope with the boundary permeability that happened. They adopted ways in which they could safe-guard their multiple identities in the situation they found themselves in, do justice to the salient roles in their lives, emerge as more empathetic humans and look forward to a brighter and more hopeful future. This opens-up a possibility of studying the theory behind human behavior in crisis-like situations and the degree of acceptance that people show when they find themselves in undesirable-unalterable situations.
Practical implications
A mental reorientation is required on the part of both employees and employers to navigate smoothly in this new “normal” and find more sustainable solutions to the problem if the remote working or hybrid mode of working becomes mainstay. Clear demarcations between work and nonwork time are a key element to ensure proper work schedules for remote workers. Offline meetings and get-togethers can be organized on a periodic basis to facilitate employee interaction and engagement. Participation of employees in key decisions becomes more important in such situations as it makes employees feel more connected with their work space.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is original as it is set in a completely unprecedented situation of lockdowns (during the pandemic) that affected the lives of everyone in some way or the other. The findings of the study are unique and insightful, as they help understand the sense-making mechanism adopted by people to successfully navigate through the crisis.
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Anthony Bagherian, Mark Gershon and Sunil Kumar
Numerous attempts at installing six sigma (SS) have faced challenges and fallen short of the desired success. Thus, it becomes vital to identify the critical factors and…
Abstract
Purpose
Numerous attempts at installing six sigma (SS) have faced challenges and fallen short of the desired success. Thus, it becomes vital to identify the critical factors and characteristics that play a pivotal role in achieving successful adoption. In this study the research has aimed to highlight that a considerable number of corporate SS initiatives, around 60%, fail primarily due to the improper incorporation of essential elements and flawed assumptions.
Design/methodology/approach
To validate the influence of critical success factors (CSFs) on SS accomplishment, the study employed a research design combining exploratory and mixed-methods approaches. A Likert-scale questionnaire was utilized, and a simple random sampling method was employed to gather data. Out of the 2,325 potential participants approached, 573 responses were received, primarily from Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden. The analysis focused on 260 completed questionnaires and statistical methods including structural equation modeling (SEM), exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were utilized for data analysis.
Findings
The study acknowledged four essential components of CSFs that are imperative for sustaining the success of SS: (1) Competence of belt System employees; (2) Project management skills; (3) Organizational economic capability and (4) Leadership commitment and engagement. These factors were identified as significant contributors to the maintenance of SS’s success.
Practical implications
The practical implications of this research imply that institutions, practitioners, and researchers can utilize the four identified factors to foster the sustainable deployment of SS initiatives. By incorporating these factors, organizations can enhance the effectiveness and longevity of their SS practices.
Originality/value
The investigation's originality lies in its contribution to assessing CSFs in SS deployment within the European automobile industry, utilizing a mixed-methods research design supplemented by descriptive statistics.
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Anthony Bagherian, Mark Gerschon and Sunil Kumar
Numerous attempts at installing Six Sigma (SS) have faced challenges and fallen short of the desired success. Thus, it becomes vital to identify the critical factors and…
Abstract
Purpose
Numerous attempts at installing Six Sigma (SS) have faced challenges and fallen short of the desired success. Thus, it becomes vital to identify the critical factors and characteristics that play a pivotal role in achieving successful adoption. Research has highlighted that a considerable number of corporate Six Sigma initiatives, around 60%, fail primarily due to the improper incorporation of essential elements and flawed assumptions.
Design/methodology/approach
To validate the influence of CSFs on Six Sigma accomplishment, the study employed a research design combining exploratory and mixed-methods approaches. The analysis focused on 260 completed questionnaires, and statistical methods including SEM, EFA, and CFA were utilized for data analysis.
Findings
The study acknowledged four essential components of CSFs that are imperative for sustaining the success of Six Sigma (SS): (1) Competence of Belt System employees; (2) Project management skills; (3) Organizational economic capability; and (4) Leadership commitment and engagement. These factors were identified as significant contributors to the maintenance of Six Sigma’s success.
Practical implications
The practical implications of this research imply that institutions, practitioners, and researchers can utilize the four identified factors to foster the sustainable deployment of SS initiatives. By incorporating these factors, organizations can enhance the effectiveness and longevity of their Six Sigma practices.
Originality/value
The investigation’s originality lies in its contribution to assessing critical success factors in Six Sigma deployment within the European automobile industry, utilizing a mixed-methods research design supplemented by descriptive statistics.
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Bighnesh Dash Mohapatra, Chandan Kumar Sahoo and Avinash Chopra
The purpose of this study is to explore and prioritize the factors that determine the social insurance contribution of unorganized workers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore and prioritize the factors that determine the social insurance contribution of unorganized workers.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-stage procedure was adopted to recognize and prioritize factors influencing the social insurance participation of unorganized workers: first, crucial factors influencing unorganized workers’ contribution towards social insurance were identified by employing exploratory factor analysis, and in the second phase, the fuzzy analytical hierarchal process was applied to rank the specified criteria and then sub-criteria by assigning weights.
Findings
Four broad factors were identified, namely, economic, political, operational and socio-psychological, that significantly influence unorganized workers’ contribution towards social insurance. Later findings revealed that the prime influencer of unorganized workers’ contribution is employment contracts followed by average earnings, delivery of quality services, eligibility and accessibility.
Practical implications
The research findings are feasible as the basic propositions are based on real-world scenario. The identification and ranking of factors have the potential to be used as a checklist for policymakers when designing pension and social insurance for unorganized workers. If it is not possible to consider all, the criteria and sub-criteria assigned upper rank can be given priority to extend pension coverage for a large group of working poor.
Social implications
The key factors driving social insurance contributions have been highlighted by studying the stakeholders’ perceptions at a micro level. By comprehending the challenges, there is a possibility of covering a large section of the working poor into social insurance coverage.
Originality/value
This paper is believed to be one of its kinds to acknowledge a combination of factors that determine the contribution of unorganized workers to social insurance. This study is an empirical investigation to prioritize the essential drivers of social insurance participation by low-income cohorts in the context of emerging countries. The present approach of employing fuzzy logic has also very limited use in social insurance literature yet.
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Gollapalli Shankar and Siva Reddy Sheri
This research investigates the impact of Dufour effects and viscous dissipation on unsteady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) natural convection in an incompressible, viscous, and…
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigates the impact of Dufour effects and viscous dissipation on unsteady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) natural convection in an incompressible, viscous, and electrically conductive fluid over a vertically oscillating flat plate. The study highlights the significance of magnetic fields in influencing thermal and mass transfer, particularly in the context of thermal radiation. Computational fluid dynamics method including finite difference or finite element techniques can be used to crack the governing equations of the fluid flow. In this work, we used the finite element method (FEM) numerical technique to analyze the numerical behavior of unsteady boundary layer flow of Casson fluid with natural convection past an oscillating vertical plate. Key parameters such as skin friction, temperature, concentration, velocity and Sherwood numbers are derived and analyzed. The results demonstrate that viscous dissipation significantly elevates the fluid temperature, while an increase in the radiation parameter is associated with a decrease in internal friction at the plate. These findings provide critical insights into the interplay between thermal radiation and magnetic fields in MHD flows, with potential applications in engineering systems involving heat and mass transfer, such as cooling systems and material processing. This study underscores the importance of understanding these dynamics for optimizing the performance of MHD applications in various industrial settings.
Design/methodology/approach
The mainly authorized and energetic FEM to explain the non-linear, dimensionless partial differential equations (11–13) via equation with boundary conditions (14) makes use of Bathe (36), Reddy (37), Connor (38) and Chung (39). Following are the key steps that make up the method: discretize the domain, derivation of element equation, assembly of element equation, imposition of boundary condition and solution of assembly equation.
Findings
This study examined the impact of viscid dissipative radiation and the Dufour effect on unsteady one-dimensional MHD natural convective flow of a viscous, incompressible, electrically conducting fluid past an infinite moving vertical flat plate with a chemical reaction. Numerically solving the governing equations using the FEM approach is efficient and precise, aiming to be applied to fluid mechanics and related problems. Along with their effects on temperature, concentration and velocity, the following parameters are included: the mass Grashof number, the Soret number, the Grashof number, the Prandtl number, chemical reaction, the Schmidt number, radiation and the Casson parameter. Both the Grashof numbers of thermal and mass rates (Gr, Gm) make an increment in the velocity region. The velocity decreases with an increase in the magnetic parameter. The velocity increases with an increase in the permeability of the porous medium parameter. The temperature flow rate is higher for both Dufour and Viscid dissipation, while a decrement is noted of both Prandtl number and radiation effects. The decrementing behavior of the concentration region is observed at supreme inputs of chemical reaction coefficient and Schmidt number.
Originality/value
This is an original paper and not submitted anywhere.