Kim Kreisler Buch and Anna Tolentino
The purpose of this study is to test two common assumptions underlying the success of total quality management (TQM): that change occurs as training imparts new knowledge needed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to test two common assumptions underlying the success of total quality management (TQM): that change occurs as training imparts new knowledge needed by employees to effectively participate in the intervention, and that employees then receive the organizational support needed to translate this knowledge into new job behaviors and organizational practices that define the intervention.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was completed by 216 employees of a large US company 15 months after the implementation of a Fsix sigma quality improvement program. Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they had the skills and resources needed for successful participation in six sigma (success expectancies).
Findings
Results showed that employees as a group had low expectancies for both skills and resources, but that expectancies were significantly higher for program participants than for non‐participants.
Research limitations/implications
The primary implication of this finding for change agents is the need to examine and understand employee expectancies for success and how they are affected by training and ongoing participation. Monitoring employee expectancy beliefs regarding the confidence, knowledge, and resources needed for successful participation allows training, facilitation, and oversight to be targeted in terms of who needs what and when.
Originality/value
This study tests two common assumptions underlying the success of TQM.
Details
Keywords
Francesco Ciclosi, Paolo Ceravolo, Ernesto Damiani and Donato De Ieso
This chapter analyzes the compliance of some category of Open Data in Politics with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. After clarifying the legal basis of…
Abstract
This chapter analyzes the compliance of some category of Open Data in Politics with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. After clarifying the legal basis of this framework, with specific attention to the processing procedures that conform to the legitimate interests pursued by the data controller, including open data licenses or anonymization techniques, that can result in partial application of the GDPR, but there is no generic guarantee, and, as a consequence, an appropriate process of analysis and management of risks is required.
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The paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of business processes (BPs) literature by identifying and discussing key BP‐related research themes and suggesting directions…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of business processes (BPs) literature by identifying and discussing key BP‐related research themes and suggesting directions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
Latent semantic analysis was used to analyze the abstracts of academic articles related to BP. Over 2,700 articles that use the term “business process (BP)” in their title, abstract or keywords were identified through electronic journals database EBSCOHost and examined.
Findings
The results clearly indicate growing interest in BP research during the past 20 years. The key research themes can be classified into core and associated BP research. Core BP research deals with four cornerstones of BP change: BP design, information technology, BP implementation, and ongoing BP management. The associated BP research lies on the intersection of BP and other research areas such as total quality management, supply chain management, e‐commerce, etc.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need to focus future research efforts on understanding the inter‐relationships among the four identified cornerstones of BP change. There is also a need for more inter‐disciplinary BP research and integration of BP‐related organizational practices.
Originality/value
The review offers a cross‐disciplinary perspective on BP research. The proposed framework can be used to identify directions for future research and practice.
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Keywords
K.S. Nivedhitha and A.K. Sheik Manzoor
While the sizable body of research focusses on various psychological effects of enterprise social media (ESM), research connecting the link between ESM and cyberslacking is still…
Abstract
Purpose
While the sizable body of research focusses on various psychological effects of enterprise social media (ESM), research connecting the link between ESM and cyberslacking is still very sparse. Drawing inspiration from the social bonding theory, the authors have proposed a moderated mediation model to explain how ESM affordances reduce cyberslacking, mediated significantly by workplace social bonding when the perceived co-worker involvement is high.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilising a sample of 384 respondents, the study tested the model fit and hypothesised relationships with AMOS and PROCESS MACRO.
Findings
The findings show that workplace social bonding mediates the relationship between ESM affordances and cyberslacking. The results are also consistent with the moderated mediation model as the mediation is significant when the perceived co-worker involvement is high, and the mediation is insignificant when the moderator is low/moderate.
Research limitations/implications
Considering the potential behavioural dynamics of ESM artefacts, the authors have introduced self-expression (via microblogging), recognition (from paralinguistic digital affordances) and network externality as ESM affordances. Alongside the existing measures to reduce employee deviance, the proposed model with the above-mentioned affordances can be investigated in detail by the future research community.
Practical implications
In light of the findings, the study demonstrates that ESM can be treated as a mechanism to keep cyberslacking at bay. The results offer significant implications for managers, who lookout for innovative and soft strategies to reduce cyberslacking in the workplace.
Originality/value
Instead of implementing strict policies to kerb cyberslacking, this study proposes an alternative and an interesting model by introducing ESM as a strategic tool in reducing cyberslacking. The paper argues that ESM, being a potential tool for employee engagement and bonding, may offset the employees' tendency to involve in cyberslacking.
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Xintian Tu, Chris Georgen, Joshua A. Danish and Noel Enyedy
This paper aims to show how collective embodiment with physical objects (i.e. props) support young children’s learning through the construction of liminal blends that merge…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to show how collective embodiment with physical objects (i.e. props) support young children’s learning through the construction of liminal blends that merge physical, virtual and conceptual resources in a mixed-reality (MR) environment..
Design/methodology/approach
Building on Science through Technology Enhanced Play (STEP), we apply the Learning in Embodied Activity Framework to further explore how liminal blends can help us understand learning within MR environments. Twenty-two students from a mixed first- and second-grade classroom participated in a seven-part activity sequence in the STEP environment. The authors applied interaction analysis to analyze how student’s actions performed with the physical objects helped them to construct liminal blends that allowed key concepts to be made visible and shared for collective sensemaking.
Findings
The authors found that conceptually productive liminal blends occurred when students constructed connections between the resources in the MR environment and coordinated their embodiment with props to represent new understandings.
Originality/value
This study concludes with the implications for how the design of MR environment and teachers’ facilitation in MR environment supports students in constructing liminal blends and their understanding of complex science phenomena.