Leyla Mohadjer and Brad Edwards
This paper aims to provides a brief review of the dashboard literature, an account of the development of performance dashboards for field data collection at Westat, and more…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provides a brief review of the dashboard literature, an account of the development of performance dashboards for field data collection at Westat, and more specifically for the first cycle of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). A brief concluding section offers suggestions for improvements in survey dashboards for PIAAC’s next cycle.
Design/methodology/approach
To manage field work at Westat, the authors create views into various paradata databases and present them in a dashboard, showing key performance indicators at a glance. Users can drill down from the dashboard into underlying databases to investigate potential problems. The US PIAAC dashboard is a monitoring system that supports daily review of many activities. For example, it provides overnight alerts to the field supervisor when global positioning system (GPS) data from an interviewer’s smartphone shows the interview occurred far from the respondent’s home.
Findings
Performance dashboards may represent best practice for monitoring field activities. Paradata sources and systems vary greatly across the PIAAC countries, but a multitude of process data exists in every country and can be used to create quality indicators and a monitoring system. PIAAC can establish standards/guidelines to improve visualization of quality metrics and management data, regardless of the local survey infrastructure.
Originality/value
The core of the paper is a case study of the experiences on the US PIAAC implementation of dashboards to monitor survey quality, production and costs, with special attention to the issue of fabrication.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
The effectiveness of the organization through internal communication and process enhancements across all functions (particularly between registration services and the compliance team) was enhanced, meaning that information on registered firms was more readily captured and shared, and the overall project enabled MCCB to remain fully effective in its operations despite the impact of change and uncertainty experienced in the period up to closure.
Practical implications
Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.
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Duncan Shaw, Matthew Hall, John S. Edwards and Brad Baker
Many managers would like to take a strategic approach to preparing the organisation to avoid impending crisis but instead find themselves fire‐fighting to mitigate its impact…
Abstract
Purpose
Many managers would like to take a strategic approach to preparing the organisation to avoid impending crisis but instead find themselves fire‐fighting to mitigate its impact. This paper seeks to examine an organisation which made major strategic changes in order to respond to the full effect of a crisis which would be realised over a two to three year period. At the root of these changes was a strategic approach to managing knowledge. The paper's purpose is to reflect on managers' views of the impact this strategy had on preparing for the crisis and explore what happened in the organisation during and after the crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines a case‐study of a financial services organisation which faced the crisis of its impending dissolution. The paper draws upon observations of change management workshops, as well as interviews with organisational members of a change management task force.
Findings
The response to the crisis was to recognise the importance of the people and their knowledge to the organisation, and to build a strategy which improved business processes and communication flow across the divisions, as well as managing the departure of knowledge workers from an organisation in the process of being dissolved.
Practical implications
The paper demonstrates the importance of building a knowledge management strategy during times of crisis, and draws out important lessons for organisations facing organisational change.
Originality/value
The paper represents a unique opportunity to learn from an organisation adopting a strategic approach to managing its knowledge during a time of crisis.
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Bradley Hughes, David J. Edwards, Igor Martek, Nicholas Chileshe and Wellington Didibhuku Thwala
A mixed philosophies epistemological design with inductive reasoning was adopted to develop new theoretical insights into the phenomena under investigation. First, interpretivism…
Abstract
Purpose
A mixed philosophies epistemological design with inductive reasoning was adopted to develop new theoretical insights into the phenomena under investigation. First, interpretivism was employed to contextualise the prevailing body of knowledge and source questions (and prompts) to be posed to practitioners. Second, a case study strategy (augmented by participant action research) was adopted to measure construction industry professionals' perceptions of the clerk of work's role and their impact upon both quality and safety of construction.
Design/methodology/approach
This research conducts a case study investigation of affordable and/or social home construction and examine industry's perception of the clerk of works (CoW) and their powers and responsibilities within existing legislation to impact quality of construction.
Findings
The findings illustrate that while the clerk of work's role positively impacts quality and safety of construction, it is hindered by cost and time constraints that are often prioritised. An analogy to “yield points” in materials science is then adapted to develop new theory to conceptualise the pivotal position that the CoW has in upholding quality construction. The research concludes with pragmatic recommendations (such as industry centric codes of practice) to mitigate quality and safety issues arising and signpost future academic research in this area.
Originality/value
UK construction has been criticised for prioritising costs and profits vis-à-vis quality and safety issues, as exemplified by the Grenfell fire. This study demonstrates the need for reinstatement of the CoW role in mitigating residential housing quality decline.
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Sarah Mei Yi Chua and Duncan William Murray
The purpose of this paper is to study gender-based differences in information-processing impact on message perception, leading to women viewing the behavior of potentially toxic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study gender-based differences in information-processing impact on message perception, leading to women viewing the behavior of potentially toxic leaders more negatively than they are viewed by men.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 381 participants completed a series of measures of cue recognition items, collusion and conformity pertaining to a hypothetical toxic leadership scenario.
Findings
Results indicated that women perceived the toxic leader more negatively than men, elaborating more on negative message connotations, while men emphasized positives. Likewise, men recorded higher scores on their tendency to collude with the toxic leader compared to women. Evidence was also found that participants were more attuned to negative messages and behavior from a leader of the same gender.
Research limitations/implications
The Anglo-Celtic dominance of the sample is identified as a potential limitation. Further research exploring how not only gender, but age and cultural differences impact on how leaders are perceived is also proposed.
Practical implications
From a management standpoint understanding that men and women process information differently has worth in assisting in organizations more effectively structuring their intra-organizational communications. Gender-specific communications may help to offset perceptions of negativity toward leaders.
Originality/value
This study is the first to consider how gender-based information-processing differences may influence whether a leader is perceived as toxic by male and female followers. It also suggests that gender interaction effects may be critical when considering how leaders, particularly toxic leaders, are viewed by employees.
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Lynne Andersson and Lisa Calvano
This paper aims to examine how the globally mobile elite (GME) uses its capital and networks to create a perception that market-driven solutions to social problems are superior to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how the globally mobile elite (GME) uses its capital and networks to create a perception that market-driven solutions to social problems are superior to the efforts of government and civil society.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a number of emerging literatures, the authors introduce and develop the concept of the “perceived mobility of impact” and use the case of the “Bono effect” to illustrate how this phenomenon is enacted. The authors then employ a critical lens to challenge the consequences of this perceived mobility of impact.
Findings
Global elites use their mobility to generate network capital, which in conjunction with celebrity affinity for global humanitarian causes builds a self-reinforcing consensus and legitimizes market-driven solutions to social problems. While this approach may make the GME feel generous about their contribution, it raises questions about accountability and representation in shaping global social policy.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on the GME, offering a unique critical perspective on their motives and actions, and introduces the concept of ‘perceived mobility of impact’.
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The purpose of this study is to explore how fashion clothing is perceived and consumed by young males, what their attitudes are toward fashion and how fashion is used in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore how fashion clothing is perceived and consumed by young males, what their attitudes are toward fashion and how fashion is used in the construction of a social identity by these men.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory approach is used in this research, with the fashion consumption behaviours and perceptions of males aged between 19 and 25 explored.
Findings
Results note the positive role of social comparison amongst young men in their fashion-seeking behaviour, with fashion consumption playing a large role in the emotional well-being of young men in a social context.
Research limitations/implications
This research was exploratory in nature and used a small sample of males from a specific age cohort. As such, the results cannot be generalized but do offer analytical insights into male attitudes and behaviour toward fashion that can be extended in future research.
Practical implications
While the act of shopping for clothing was traditionally seen as a female recreation, fragmentation of the traditional male/female dichotomy has seen men become active in the social consumption ethic surrounding fashion. The current study examines the emergence of fashion-aware males and offers insight into the key motivations for young males to seek out fashion products.
Social implications
In a society where fashion seeking is a popular recreational activity across genders and changing notions of masculinity allow for more appearance focused men, shopping for clothes is no longer considered an exclusively female activity.
Originality/value
Where research has previously examined fashion items and their integral role in product-self extension from a female perspective, very little studies focus on males’ relationships with fashion. Whilst prior research has examined men’s self-image and self-modification via exercise or plastic surgery, there is little that focuses on the role of clothing in men’s identity creation.
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Benedetta Cappellini, Vicki Harman, Alessandra Marilli and Elizabeth Parsons
Brad C. Meyer and Debra S. Bishop
Florence Nightingale has long been known for her contributions to the nursing field, but her pioneering work in quality management has gone virtually undiscussed. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Florence Nightingale has long been known for her contributions to the nursing field, but her pioneering work in quality management has gone virtually undiscussed. This paper addresses the significant contributions of Nightingale to the field of quality management.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper begins with a brief biographical background and then discusses her work during the Crimean War. Florence's approach to addressing service quality issues and her use of statistical methods are detailed. The paper then extends to her work following the Crimean War and concludes with an interesting comparative commentary relating Florence Nightingale to Dr W. Edwards Deming. Quotes from Florence's writings are interjected liberally throughout.
Findings
This paper brings a new historical perspective to the field of quality management and reveals a nineteenth century apostle of quality. The current alarm regarding quality in health care practice bears more than a fleeting resemblance to Florence Nightingale's world, 150 years ago.
Practical implications
While many hospitals have already experimented with some kind of quality program based on Deming's ideas, the call is out afresh to analyze processes and eliminate mistakes and other quality problems.
Originality/value
This historical paper provides the reader with a unique perspective on Florence Nightingale's well deserved place in quality history and the relevance of her philosophies for today.
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Tae-Yeol Kim, Brad Gilbreath, Emily M. David and Sang-Pyo Kim
The purpose of this paper is to test whether self-verification striving serves as an individual difference antecedent of emotional labor and explore whether various emotional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test whether self-verification striving serves as an individual difference antecedent of emotional labor and explore whether various emotional labor tactics acted as mediating mechanisms through which self-verification striving relates to employee outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample used in this paper consisted of supervisor–subordinate dyads working in six hotels in South Korea and used multi-level analyses and the Monte Carlo method to test the research hypotheses presented in this paper.
Findings
Self-verification striving was positively and directly related to job performance as well as two out of three forms of emotional labor (i.e. the expression of naturally felt emotions and deep acting). Self-verification striving also indirectly related to job satisfaction through the expression of naturally felt emotions and indirectly related to job performance through deep acting.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper suggest that organizations should consider self-verification striving as an employment selection criterion and provide training programs to help their customer service employees engage in appropriate types of emotional labor.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to explore the underlying mechanisms through which self-verification striving relates to employee outcomes. It also empirically bolsters the notion that expressing naturally felt emotions is an important means of authentic self-expression that positively contributes to job satisfaction. Further, the authors found that self-verification striving positively relates to job performance partially through deep acting. Moreover, they have shown that self-verification striving, as an individual differences variable, is an antecedent of different types of emotional labor.