Andrea Kim, Kyongji Han, Joseph R. Blasi and Douglas L. Kruse
Building on economic and psychological ownership theories, this study investigates whether group incentives can reduce shirking because these practices enable employees to feel…
Abstract
Building on economic and psychological ownership theories, this study investigates whether group incentives can reduce shirking because these practices enable employees to feel psychological ownership that motivates them to prevent their own and coworkers shirking in a collective work setting. We analyzed a sample of 38,475 employees in eight companies that participated in the survey administered by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in 2005. Our findings reveal that (1) short-term-oriented group incentives (STOGIs) and long-term-oriented group incentives (LTOGIs) are positively related to self-shirking regulation and coworker-shirking intervention; (2) STOGIs have stronger relationships with these anti-shirking outcomes than LTOGIs; and (3) the interaction between LTOGIs and formal training is positively related to these anti-shirking outcomes. Although some scholars are concerned about the free rider problem in the collective working and rewarding structure, our work demonstrates how and why employee shirking may be mitigated in such settings.
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Andreas Hanning, Anna Priem Abelsson, Ulrika Lundqvist and Magdalena Svanström
The aim of this study is to contribute to the quality improvement and long‐term strategic development of education for sustainable development (ESD) in engineering education…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to contribute to the quality improvement and long‐term strategic development of education for sustainable development (ESD) in engineering education curricula.
Design/methodology/approach
The content in 70 courses in environment and SD were characterized and quantified using course document text analysis. Additionally, two questionnaires were sent to students and alumni at Chalmers, and interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with representatives from 16 Swedish companies and five organizations.
Findings
It was found that industry demands a broader range of competences in SD amongst engineers in general than what is currently provided. In total, 35 per cent of alumni claim they encounter sustainability issues from sometimes to daily in their work. However, only half of them believe they possess enough competences to make decisions from a sustainability perspective. Quantity, coverage and the level of integration in the educational programme all appear to be important for the students' perceived competences on SD and for the importance that they put on achieving SD.
Originality/value
Earlier research has reported on how to further develop the idea and design of ESD and on competence needs in general. Few attempts have been made to assess industry's needs of competences in SD. This paper sheds light on how engineering universities educate for SD and benchmarks this to industry's needs in an exploratory case study, using Chalmers as an example.
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Starts out by documenting the massive scale of early, and disability, retirement in Hungary and Poland, during the first seven years of the post‐communist transition. Sums up that…
Abstract
Starts out by documenting the massive scale of early, and disability, retirement in Hungary and Poland, during the first seven years of the post‐communist transition. Sums up that the Hungarian and Polish governments had urgent reasons to design social policies to try to halt the danger of large‐scale protests in the 1990s.
Xiaoshuang Ma, Xixiang Liu, Chen-Long Li and Shuangliang Che
This paper aims to present a multi-source information fusion algorithm based on factor graph for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) navigation and positioning to address the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a multi-source information fusion algorithm based on factor graph for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) navigation and positioning to address the asynchronous and heterogeneous problem of multiple sensors.
Design/methodology/approach
The factor graph is formulated by joint probability distribution function (pdf) random variables. All available measurements are processed into an optimal navigation solution by the message passing algorithm in the factor graph model. To further aid high-rate navigation solutions, the equivalent inertial measurement unit (IMU) factor is introduced to replace several consecutive IMU measurements in the factor graph model.
Findings
The proposed factor graph was demonstrated both in a simulated and vehicle environment using IMU, Doppler Velocity Log, terrain-aided navigation, magnetic compass pilot and depth meter sensors. Simulation results showed that the proposed factor graph processes all available measurements into the considerably improved navigation performance, computational efficiency and complexity compared with the un-simplified factor graph and the federal Kalman filtering methods. Semi-physical experiment results also verified the robustness and effectiveness.
Originality/value
The proposed factor graph scheme supported a plug and play capability to easily fuse asynchronous heterogeneous measurements information in AUV navigation systems.
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Carlos López-Hernández, Francisco López and Ana Cristina González
The case study is based on a series of in-depth interviews carried out with the owners and directors of the company. The data are complemented by documentary analysis, including…
Abstract
Research methodology
The case study is based on a series of in-depth interviews carried out with the owners and directors of the company. The data are complemented by documentary analysis, including descriptions of internal processes and industry information. For the teaching note, the authors opt for an exploratory study using the open-ended approach of grounded theory.
Case overview/synopsis
Arette® is a Mexican family business dedicated to the production and sale of tequila, fusing the artisanal with the new in its production processes. Sales take place mostly in the European and American markets. The foreign market for tequila is very attractive but also very demanding both in terms of financial resources and time. Although the company has managed to enter this market through bars and restaurants, it has not yet managed to reach the final consumers (those who order margaritas in bars). Jaime, Eduardo and Lalo are wondering whether it might be time to invest more resources in ensuring that Arette® is not just a brand for fine cocktails. Until now, their main promotional tool has been word of mouth, and they are not sure what their next step should be – to focus on the international or the domestic market.
Complexity academic level
The case study can be incorporated into undergraduate classes, where it could serve as part of an international marketing course, in particular, as an international sales strategy and implementation session. It can be used to teach basic concepts and their application.
Learning objectives
This case study focuses on the decision that many small companies have to make at some point in their business strategy, which is to focus either on the international or domestic market: The objectives are as follows:
1. To identify the variables that increase or modify the demand for Tequila.
2. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of focusing on a domestic Tequila market or focusing on an international market.
3. Identify the critical variables that a small company faces if it wants to go international such as.
4. Identify if there are forms of diversification for Tequila Arette such as new markets or new products, or both.