All managers have to exercise influence over their boss, peers and subordinates if they are to be successful in achieving organisational and personal goals. The particular methods…
Abstract
All managers have to exercise influence over their boss, peers and subordinates if they are to be successful in achieving organisational and personal goals. The particular methods of influence that they use therefore are of potential interest to management trainers, consultants and management educationalists. However, although such a statement is a truism, until recently there has been an imbalance in the emphasis of the research which has systematically examined the range of methods used by managers to influence others. Very little attention has been devoted to considering how managers influence their superiors.
Seung‐Bum Yang and Sang Ok Choi
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of employee empowerment on team performance in the context of municipal work teams. Four different dimensions of employee…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of employee empowerment on team performance in the context of municipal work teams. Four different dimensions of employee empowerment are identified: autonomy, responsibility, information, and creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey of 176 US municipal government employees, this study conducted an OLS multiple regression analysis. The study regressed the dependent variable, team performance, on the four independent variables: autonomy, responsibility, information, and creativity.
Findings
The regression analysis provided empirical evidence in support of the four hypotheses proposed in this study. The study reveals that autonomy, responsibility, information, and creativity each have positive and significant effects on team performance.
Practical implications
The study suggests that employee empowerment programs should consider different dimensions of empowerment. At least, managers need to keep in mind the four dimensions of empowerment discussed in this research. Understanding different dimensions of empowerment will enable managers to design and implement a successful empowerment program.
Originality/value
Prior research focused on developing conceptual models of the multiple dimensions of empowerment. This paper took one step further and provided empirical evidence.
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Knowledge management is an emergent and eclectic body of knowledge which covers the systematic management of knowledge, of all kinds, within all levels and types of organisations…
Abstract
Knowledge management is an emergent and eclectic body of knowledge which covers the systematic management of knowledge, of all kinds, within all levels and types of organisations. The relative newness of the area as a management philosophy has resulted in most research and practical application studies being based in large private sector organisations. There is relatively little information on knowledge management in the private sector, and even less on private‐public sector knowledge management comparisons. Compares the perceptions of both private and public sector organisations in regard to knowledge management to improve overall understanding and to develop sector specific learning. First, the key dimensions of knowledge management are identified using a developed knowledge management model. Second, a survey of public and private sector organisations is used to investigate perceptions of the knowledge management dimensions. Third, there are a series of qualitative social constructionist workshops, involving both private and public sector organisations which were run to gain a deeper insight into sectoral comparisons. It was found that knowledge management was more developed as a management philosophy in the public sector. This development has been caused by continual pressure for increased efficiency, reduced resources and improved quality within the public sector.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent service delivery in the Canadian federal government actually improved after a decade of reform efforts, and how employee…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent service delivery in the Canadian federal government actually improved after a decade of reform efforts, and how employee empowerment accounted for any improvements that arose.
Design/methodology/approach
Five focus group interviews were conducted in 2002 with federal government employees involved in service delivery. Interview transcripts were content analyzed. The employee empowerment and service quality literatures, including critical perspectives, provide the theoretical underpinnings of the study.
Findings
Productivity and service enhancement did materialize, but little empowerment occurred. Work intensification was revealed. The shortcomings of applying private sector‐style definitions of productivity to the public sector were identified.
Research limitations/implications
Study findings have limited generalizability due to small sample size. Findings must be verified through additional research. Comparative findings from countries that introduced service reforms more comprehensively than did Canada would be of interest.
Practical implications
Public sector efforts to improve service delivery should address possible material barriers affecting service delivery and pay more attention to employee needs. The efficacy of quantitative performance targets should be re‐examined.
Originality/value
The outcomes of a public service reform initiative intended to improve service quality by allegedly empowering front‐line workers are presented from an employee perspective. As there is limited empirical research done on this topic from that perspective it should be of general interest to researchers in the fields of public policy and human resources management.
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Daring to challenge the status quo impacts innovation. Yet, successful outcomes depend on individual risk-taking and choice to influence others to support new ideas. This…
Abstract
Daring to challenge the status quo impacts innovation. Yet, successful outcomes depend on individual risk-taking and choice to influence others to support new ideas. This Challenging the Status Quo exercise illustrates how leaders use power and influencing tactics to challenge norms by analyzing Donald Trump’s journey as the 45th U.S. President to defy experts and successfully influence followers to support his non-traditional candidacy: businessman lacking political experience becoming leader of the free world. Through integrating videoclips and polls, instructors make power visible, relevant, and thought-provoking as students apply power theory and influencing tactics perspectives to analyze (a) how leaders impact followers’ perceptions, (b) students mutual-influencing strategies, (c) power’s relationship with social identity and privilege, and (d) social impact on innovation via activism and free speech.
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Chester A. Schriesheim and Linda L. Neider
The current state of leadership training and development issummarised, as well as the three phases through which leadership theoryand practice have passed (trait, behavioural and…
Abstract
The current state of leadership training and development is summarised, as well as the three phases through which leadership theory and practice have passed (trait, behavioural and situational phases). Then weaknesses of these three approaches to leadership are highlighted, along with what seems needed for the field to advance. New and intriguing directions in leadership research are then outlined, along with preliminary insights from these approaches. Finally, it is argued that we may now be poised on the brink of significant innovative advances in theory and in leadership development, based on these new approaches and findings.
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Despite its central role in the influence process, power has largely been overlooked by scholars seeking to understand global leaders' influence over their constituents. As a…
Abstract
Despite its central role in the influence process, power has largely been overlooked by scholars seeking to understand global leaders' influence over their constituents. As a consequence, we currently have limited understanding of the varieties of power that global leaders hold, how power is exercised in global contexts, and what impact exercising power has in global organizations. The intended purpose of this chapter is to mobilize research on this important topic through systematic review. The review is organized around the following guiding questions: (i) how is power defined in global leadership research? (ii) what power bases do global leaders possess? (iii) how do global leaders exercise power? (iv) what factors influence global leaders' exercise of power? and (v) what are the outcomes of global leaders' exercise of power? Based on a synthesis of extant insights, this chapter develops a foundation for future research on power in global leadership by mapping critical knowledge gaps and outlining paths for further inquiry.
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The study examines the widely held assertion that unemployed managers will possess the characteristics traditionally associated with managerial ability to a lesser degree than…
Abstract
The study examines the widely held assertion that unemployed managers will possess the characteristics traditionally associated with managerial ability to a lesser degree than managers in employment. In contrast to conventional wisdom the unemployed appear to possess many of the attributes traditionally associated with managerial ability. These results are discussed in terms of the stability of personality over time, the influence of organisational factors in the causes of job loss and the possibility that the unemployed managers studied had a greater than average preference for risk‐taking. The implications of these results for personnel management are explored.
The present study was undertaken to find out whether differentinfluence tactics are evaluated the same way, or differently, indownward and upward exercise of influence; and…
Abstract
The present study was undertaken to find out whether different influence tactics are evaluated the same way, or differently, in downward and upward exercise of influence; and whether appropriateness and effectiveness constitute two different dimensions of evaluation. Data were collected from 144 bank managers. Discusses implications of these findings. Results showed that for influencing subordinates, many more tactics are seen as being highly appropriate and effective, than for influencing superiors. Appropriateness and effectiveness emerged as two different dimensions of evaluation.