This paper reviews three studies that examine the main causes of employee stress and well‐being in call centres. All three studies were conducted by the author and his colleagues…
Abstract
This paper reviews three studies that examine the main causes of employee stress and well‐being in call centres. All three studies were conducted by the author and his colleagues and reveal that employee well‐being in call centres is associated with: effective job design; performance monitoring that is not perceived to be intense and which aims to develop employees; supportive management; and, supportive human resource practices. Furthermore, levels of well‐being in call centres are shown to compare favourably to other forms of work. The studies challenge the image of call centres as “electronic sweatshops” and question the idea that call centre work is inevitably stressful. It is argued that managers have a choice in how to organise call centre work and can take steps to actively design employee stress out of call centre work. Practical recommendations on how to reduce employee stress in call centres are discussed.
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To provide a concise briefing on the use of storytelling as a business tool in organizations.
Abstract
Purpose
To provide a concise briefing on the use of storytelling as a business tool in organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds his own impartial comments and places the argument in context.
Findings
Denning became converted to the effectiveness of storytelling as a business tool after witnessing its goals achieved in practice. He warns, however, against a “one size fits all” approach, recommending instead adopting different styles in different situations and asking if the intention is, for instance, to spur action or to transfer knowledge. Gold and Holman's study is a thorough, and consequently lengthy, consideration of an experientially based personal development module on a management diploma that was redesigned according to social constructionist ideas about learning and managerial activity. Parkin's article gives an intriguing insight into how offering information and instruction in the form of a story enables the brain to make us feel more relaxed, as opposed to feeling threatened by change with a consequent decline in the capacity for creative thinking.
Practical implications
Provides plenty of useful guidance to human‐resource and training specialists considering the introduction of storytelling in their organizations.
Originality/value
Provides some useful information on the use of storytelling as a business tool in organizations.
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Mark Easterby‐Smith, Richard Thorpe and David Holman
It is now 15 years since the Journal of European Industrial Training published its first monograph on repertory grid technique (Volume 4 Number 2, 1980). Since that time many…
Abstract
It is now 15 years since the Journal of European Industrial Training published its first monograph on repertory grid technique (Volume 4 Number 2, 1980). Since that time many changes have occurred in both the use and the application of grids. Aims to bring the reader up to date with developments which have taken place in the application and analysis of repertory grid technique. Unlike the initial monograph, places greater emphasis on practicalities of completing a grid and the different types of analysis possible than on the applications of the grid. After encouragement from Roger Bennett, among others, this revised and expanded monograph capitalizes on the collaboration of the original author, Mark Easterby‐Smith, with Richard Thorpe and David Holman. Their combined experience of the theory and use of repertory grid technique updates the original monograph.
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The purpose of this paper is to assess the legacy of six pioneer child care researchers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the legacy of six pioneer child care researchers.
Design/methodology/approach
An assessment of the achievements of a generation of child care researchers.
Findings
The early researchers were not only highly innovative in terms of theory and methodologies but also left a set of studies that stimulated and informed subsequent studies.
Originality/value
A review of the work of six pioneering child care researchers.
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Social constructionist perspectives are becoming increasingly influential in organisational and management studies. Evaluates an experientially based personal development module…
Abstract
Social constructionist perspectives are becoming increasingly influential in organisational and management studies. Evaluates an experientially based personal development module on a management diploma that was re‐designed according to social constructionist ideas about learning and managerial activity. In particular, the paper assesses whether storytelling and argument analysis are viable elements in experientially based teaching, and considers how they mediate the processes of learning and action. It is concluded that storytelling and argument analysis are viable techniques, that they facilitate multiple perspective taking and negotiation and help in the creation of intelligible solutions in joint action with others. While accepting that there are a number of difficulties with the approach, we suggest that it provides management educators with another method of experiential learning, and that it is particularly appropriate to those wishing to encourage managers to explore and develop social constructionist perspectives in a practical and action orientated way.
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Karel Pavlica, David Holman and Richard Thorpe
Kolb’s theory of experiential learning has proven extremely popular and useful in management education. However, despite its usefulness it is not entirely unproblematic and, using…
Abstract
Kolb’s theory of experiential learning has proven extremely popular and useful in management education. However, despite its usefulness it is not entirely unproblematic and, using social constructionist perspectives, this paper critiques Kolb’s model of learning and his image of the manager as a “practical scientist”. From this critique, we suggest a more social and conversational view of learning, and present an image of the manager as a “practical author”. We then go on to show how managers as practical authors of learning can use different forms of conversation and activity to promote learning in themselves and others.
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David J. Holman, Peter Totterdell and Steven G. Rogelberg
A daily diary study was used to examine the relationships between goal distance, goal velocity, affect, expectancies, and effort from the perspective of Carver and Scheier's…
Abstract
A daily diary study was used to examine the relationships between goal distance, goal velocity, affect, expectancies, and effort from the perspective of Carver and Scheier's (1998) control theory of self-regulation. Fifteen social workers completed a diary at the end of each working day for four weeks. Multi-level analysis found little support for the precice predictions of Carver and Scheier's theory, but did support the idea that discrepancy reduction plays a role in regulating behavior. Expectancies had a strong association with effort, and affect moderated this relationship. The interaction indicated that high expectancies suppress the signalling effects of affect, preventing the individual from being consumed by immediate reactions to situational events and enabling effort to be sustained.