Bonnie Rubenstein‐Montano, Jay Liebowitz, Judah Buchwalter, Doug McCaw, Butler Newman and Ken Rebeck
A myriad of researchers have presented methodologies and frameworks for implementing knowledge‐management. However, frameworks do not provide sufficient detail for executing…
Abstract
A myriad of researchers have presented methodologies and frameworks for implementing knowledge‐management. However, frameworks do not provide sufficient detail for executing knowledge‐management initiatives, and existing methods do not adequately address all of the requirements for effective knowledge management. The field of knowledge management has been slow in formulating a universally accepted methodology. This paper reviews the status quo of knowledge‐management methodologies and presents a detailed, comprehensive methodology that addresses existing shortcomings. The presented method, SMARTVision, extends previous research on frameworks by taking a more micro‐view of knowledge management – a specific methodology.
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This article begins by analysing developments in political segmentation over the last decade. Using an appropriate database and statistical approach, segments of the British…
Abstract
This article begins by analysing developments in political segmentation over the last decade. Using an appropriate database and statistical approach, segments of the British electorate are identified. Conservative and Liberal Democrat segments are then analysed and issues affecting their likely electoral performance discussed. The Labour segments split into distinctive “old” and “new” Labour camps. As attitudes differ widely across these segments, the two most different segments are targeted for further analysis. The issues which most discriminate between these two Labour segments are highlighted and some suggestions forwarded on how policies might be positioned for these disparate segments. The article concludes by considering the stability of political segments over time. It also discusses the limits of strategic segmentation in politics and identifies further research opportunities.
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Niccolò Machiavelli is used as a guide to some of the key issues facing modern government and applies his insights into the effective management and development of civic society…
Abstract
Niccolò Machiavelli is used as a guide to some of the key issues facing modern government and applies his insights into the effective management and development of civic society. Political marketing, good governance, lobbying, ethics and effective communication with the consumer is developed.
Steven A. Watson, Robert G. Brooks, Thomas Arnold, Kathy Mason and Cathy McEachron
This article explores the use of a quality management model by a public sector agency to implement a socially responsible purchasing initiative related to minority diversity of…
Abstract
This article explores the use of a quality management model by a public sector agency to implement a socially responsible purchasing initiative related to minority diversity of the vendor pool. There is a description and discussion of the use of a quality management model for planning and implementing the initiative with a focus on changing organizational culture and reinforcing organizational policy priorities. The initial success of the initiative in increasing total contracted dollars to minorities suggests that a quality management implementation model is a useful approach for initiating a socially responsible policy within an organization.
Just a hundred years ago great developments were pending in this country in matters relating to health and to the diagnosis and treatment of disease. It was in 1852 that Pasteur…
Abstract
Just a hundred years ago great developments were pending in this country in matters relating to health and to the diagnosis and treatment of disease. It was in 1852 that Pasteur began his epoch‐making researches on the subject of bacterial fermentation. At about the same time the ophthalmoscope was introduced. In 1854 Florence Nightingale was busy demanding reforms in nursing, and in 1855 the hypodermic syringe was invented. In 1858 a register of qualified dentists was established for the first time. But the years 1851 to 1854 were remarkable also for the institution and prosecution for the first time in British history of an active campaign for the suppression of the adulteration of food. There was little knowledge of this subject and almost no laws, with two minor exceptions. It was nominally an offence under a statute of George IV to adulterate bread with alum—but no public official had any duty to enforce it. Also, there were certain Revenue Acts, enforceable by the Customs and Excise Department, which in the interests of the Revenue, not of consumers, forbade the adulteration of certain excisable articles of food. But the machinery of the Department was clumsy and inefficient. To two far‐seeing and very courageous men is due the credit for the overdue enactment in 1860 of legislation intended to protect the public from the wholesale adulteration which was rampant a hundred years ago. One was Thomas Wakley, F.R.C.S., Editor of The Lancet. Wakley in 1851 appointed an Analytical and Sanitary Commission, with Dr. A. H. Hassall, M.D., M.R.C.P., as Chief Analyst, to make investigations on a large scale, and promised that the results would be published in his journal, which would announce also the names and addresses of retailers, and of manufacturers when known, of all articles found to be adulterated. A great number of these reports appeared in The Lancet from 1851 to 1854, and were afterwards reprinted in a book by Dr. Hassall. They threw much light on many black spots. The first subject to be tackled was coffee, which was almost invariably adulterated with chicory. Analytical chemists until then had stated that it was impossible for them to detect the adulteration in their laboratories. But Dr. Hassall was a skilled microscopist, as well as a chemist and a doctor. He was the first person in this country to “ apply regularly and systematically the powers of the microscope to the elucidation of the subject of adulteration ”. He was able to detect by his microscope flagrant and widespread adulteration of the following, among many other, foods :—
Xie Yizhong, Yevhen Baranchenko, Zhibin Lin, Chi Keung Lau and Jie Ma
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of job characteristics and social exchange in transformational leadership (TFL) and employability relationship.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of job characteristics and social exchange in transformational leadership (TFL) and employability relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample is composed of 760 participants employed in Yangtze Delta and Pearl River Delta in China. The participants have worked under their line manager for more than one year. In order to better prevent data from possible common method bias, two waves of surveys (in 2014) on a stratified sample, included a mix of industries, such as construction, manufacturing, finance, insurance and communications, were used to investigate the proposed relationship between TFL, job characteristics, social exchange and employability.
Findings
The research has empirically tested the relationship between TFL and employability. While previous research has analyzed the relationship between them, the authors have enriched existing literature by exploring the mediating factors and illustrating the importance of indirect effects. Besides the direct effect, the results of this study showed that TFL could also improve employees’ employability through job demands, skill discretion, decision authority, perceived organizational support and team–member exchange, but not leader–member exchange.
Originality/value
The study opens up a debate around the employability of employees as it stands apart from the performance measurement. The authors believe that this new mediating model can provide an insight into complex mechanisms of employability enhancement from the perspective of leader development.
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Peter Beomcheol Kim, Gyumin Lee and Jichul Jang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate a research model of employee empowerment along with its contextual determinants (i.e. leader-member exchange (LMX) and schedule…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate a research model of employee empowerment along with its contextual determinants (i.e. leader-member exchange (LMX) and schedule flexibility) and primary consequence (i.e. service performance) for restaurant workers in New Zealand and South Korea. The study further examines a moderating role of national differences derived from the power distance theory for the hypothesized paths between empowerment and its determinants and consequences.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilized traditional paper-and-pencil surveys for data collection. A final sample of 303 service employees from restaurants in New Zealand (n=152) and South Korea (n=151) was used to test research hypotheses by structural equation modeling using LISREL (version 8.80).
Findings
The study concludes with two core findings supporting research hypotheses. First, as hypothesized, employees who consider their schedule flexible with high LMX quality with their immediate supervisor are more likely to feel empowered, and empowered workers are more likely to perform well in customer services. Furthermore, the results show that the impact of schedule flexibility and LMX on empowerment and the impact of empowerment on service performance are more salient among South Korean employees than their New Zealand counterpart.
Originality/value
Based on job characteristics, work adjustment, and social exchange theories, this study develops and tests a research model of employee empowerment including service context-relevant determinants, i.e., schedule flexibility and LMX, as well as a crucial work outcome, i.e., service performance, using two different national samples. The findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge in understanding the organizational dynamic of employee empowerment in the service industry, suggesting that managers incorporate relevant contextual practices to promote empowerment, which ultimately enhances employees’ service performance. It is also recommended that such practices are carefully implemented, taking into consideration the cultural background of the workforce.
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Jie Yang, Mingchao Chang, Zhihong Chen, Lulu Zhou and Jiangjiang Zhang
Based on the intrinsic motivation theory and spiritual leadership theory, the current study proposes a chain mediation model for testing the linkage between spiritual leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the intrinsic motivation theory and spiritual leadership theory, the current study proposes a chain mediation model for testing the linkage between spiritual leadership and employees' innovative behavior through individual values and role identity.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, 309 valid leader–subordinate matching questionnaires from 10 Internet enterprises and 21 manufacturing enterprises in China were collected through a field study. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping.
Findings
The results show that spiritual leadership has a positive impact on employees' innovative behavior. Uncertainty avoidance and creative role identity not only respectively play a mediating role but also play a chain mediating role in the process of spiritual leadership influencing employees' innovative behavior.
Originality/value
This study explores the influence of leadership style on employees' individual values, which has rarely been done in previous studies. Furthermore, the research explores the impact of personal values (uncertainty avoidance) on employee self-perception (creative role identity). And it enriches the relationship between spiritual leadership and employees' innovative behavior and reveals the deeper influence mechanism between them.