Denise M. Jepsen, Melinda M. Varhegyi and Stephen T.T. Teo
Although learning styles and teaching quality have been studied separately, the association between the association between the two has yet to be identified. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Although learning styles and teaching quality have been studied separately, the association between the association between the two has yet to be identified. The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between students’ learning styles with students’ perceptions of teaching quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used survey responses from 272 undergraduate students. All 80 items in the Honey and Mumford’s (1986) Learning Styles Questionnaire and all 46 teaching quality items (Thompson, 2002) were used to assess learning styles and perceptions of teaching quality, respectively. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the relationships between learning styles and perception of teaching quality.
Findings
Results indicate learners with dominant reflector or activist styles are influenced in their perceptions of teaching quality of their teacher or lecturer. No perceptions of teaching quality relationships were found for students with dominant theorist or pragmatist learning style.
Practical implications
Recognising that perceptions of teaching quality impacts on some students, teachers and lecturers may consider and articulate the type of learning they would prefer students to adopt for a particular class. As an example, a teacher might ask students who would normally see themselves as active learners to relax into the lecture mode of delivery and reflect on what is said in the lecture, to take time to consider what is said.
Originality/value
This study combines the two important constructs of learning and perception of teaching quality to provide insight into the relationship between the two.
Details
Keywords
Denise M. Jepsen and John J. Rodwell
This paper aims to widen knowledge of and explore how convergent interviewing can be used to identify key issues within an organization.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to widen knowledge of and explore how convergent interviewing can be used to identify key issues within an organization.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces the convergent interviewing technique and describes the method of selecting the interview subjects. The construction of a round of interviews is explained. The content of the interviews is described and the particular probing nature of the questions demanded by the convergent interview process is explained. The ways to analyze the full set of interviews for groupings or categories is also described. The case study example of a broad research question about influences on work behaviors in a local government council is used to illustrate the convergent interviewing technique.
Findings
The key issues revealed by using the technique can be subsequently used for a variety of research and consulting purposes and settings. Convergent interviewing is an effective research method, which conserves resources.
Originality/value
Convergent interviewing enables researchers to determine the most important and/or key issues within a population rather than a full list of issues in an organization or barriers to change in a particular organizational context.
Details
Keywords
Narelle Hess and Denise M. Jepsen
The purpose of this paper is to determine how employees in different generational groups (or cohorts) and different career stages perceive their psychological contracts.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine how employees in different generational groups (or cohorts) and different career stages perceive their psychological contracts.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of 345 working adults included psychological contract obligations, incentives and importance and the cognitive responses of job satisfaction, affective commitment and intention to leave. Super's “Adult career concerns inventory” measured career stage.
Findings
Small but significant differences between individuals' psychological contract perceptions were based on both career stage and generational cohort: higher levels of balanced obligations and fulfilment were found than either relational or transactional obligations and fulfilment; relational and transactional obligations were significantly higher for Baby Boomers than Generation Xers; a stronger negative relationship was found between transactional fulfilment and intention to leave for Generation Xers than Generation Yers; higher balanced fulfilment had a significantly stronger positive relationship with job satisfaction for exploration compared with other career stages and commitment for exploration compared with maintenance stages.
Research limitations/implications
Cross‐section methodology and difference scores in the female‐dominated sample limits generalisability. The study's key theoretical contribution is the need to further investigate whether the protean career concept is operating within employees' perceptions of their psychological contractual terms.
Originality/value
Despite widespread colloquial use of generational cohort groupings such as Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y, small effect sizes were found. Implications for employers looking to manage employees' psychological contracts include that there are greater similarities than differences between the different career stages and generational cohorts.
Details
Keywords
Syed Waqas Shah, Denise Mary Jepsen and Sarah Bankins
Despite the deployment of state-of-the-art methodologies for project management, employee turnover in projects remains high. Such turnover has significant costs in terms of…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the deployment of state-of-the-art methodologies for project management, employee turnover in projects remains high. Such turnover has significant costs in terms of replacing personnel, potential deadline overruns and financial expenditure. Employee turnover in project contexts may stem from time-related issues associated with multiple parallel projects and short deadlines. Using person–environment fit and time congruence theories, this research examines the relationship between employee turnover intentions and individual–organizational (I–O) polychronicity fit, which captures the degree of match between individuals’ and organizational preferences for focusing on multiple tasks simultaneously.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 309 software project employees in Pakistan. Hypotheses were tested using polynomial regressions and response surface modeling.
Findings
I–O polychronicity fit is related to turnover intentions. Turnover intentions are lower when I–O polychronicity fit occurs on the lower end of the polychronicity continuum, whereas turnover intentions are higher when fit is observed on the higher end of the polychronicity continuum. The relationship between I–O polychronicity fit and turnover intentions is significantly explained by exhaustion and perceptions of work overload.
Practical implications
The study’s insights provide recommendations for organizations to optimally manage multitasking to help retain project employees.
Originality/value
These findings extend our understanding of the underlying mechanisms between I–O polychronicity fit and turnover intentions. Furthermore, this research expounds on how employee exhaustion and perceptions of work overload explain the relationship between I–O polychronicity fit and turnover intentions.
Details
Keywords
Denise Jackson, Linda Riebe and Flavio Macau
This study aims to investigate graduate employer perceptions of determining factors in recruitment decisions and their preferred use of recruitment channels. This study drew on…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate graduate employer perceptions of determining factors in recruitment decisions and their preferred use of recruitment channels. This study drew on the employability capitals model to interpret findings and identify ways to better prepare higher education students for recruitment and selection. This is particularly important in declining graduate labour markets, further weakened by COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
This study gathered data from surveying 183 Australian employers from different organisational settings. Responses were analysed using descriptive and multivariate techniques, the latter exploring variations by role type, sector and organisation size.
Findings
Findings reaffirmed the criticality of students having the right disposition and demonstrating professional capabilities during recruitment, highlighting the value of building cultural and human capital during university years. Recruitment channels that require students to mobilise their identity and social capital were prioritised, particularly among private sector organisations. Work-based internships/placements were considered important for identifying graduate talent and developing strong industry–educator partnerships, needed for building networks between students and employers.
Originality/value
This study provides valuable insights into determinants of graduate recruitment decision-making from the employer perspective. These highlight to students the important role of capitals, and how they can be developed to optimise recruitment success. This study presents practical strategies for universities to build their students’ human, social, cultural and identity capital. Findings on the prioritisation of recruitment channels among graduate employers from different sectors will enable students and universities to better prepare for future recruitment. It emphasises that student engagement with employability-related activities is a critical resource for an effective transition to the workplace.
Details
Keywords
Jennifer D. Chandler and Wes Johnston
This chapter reviews emergent research streams as a basis for a dynamic multilevel perspective on organizational buying behavior that can link seminal studies to more contemporary…
Abstract
This chapter reviews emergent research streams as a basis for a dynamic multilevel perspective on organizational buying behavior that can link seminal studies to more contemporary issues raised by managers and scholars alike. Since Johnston and Lewin's (1996) review, the literature does not include a comprehensive analysis of recent themes or general directions. From a managerial perspective, some of these issues that need coverage include the following questions. What are the best practices for integrating the organizational buying process with product design, development, and innovation? How can technology, media, and automation be leveraged in the buying process? For supplier relationships in which trust and commitment have been established, what are the best practices for using this to build competitive advantage? What are the best practices for leveraging the brands of products or services that are not owned by a firm? What are the best practices for managing buying processes across international markets?
Zhou Jiang, Paul J. Gollan and Gordon Brooks
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how two individual value orientations – Doing (the tendency to commit to goals and hold a strong work ethic) and Mastery (an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how two individual value orientations – Doing (the tendency to commit to goals and hold a strong work ethic) and Mastery (an orientation toward seeking control over outside forces) – moderate: the relationship between organizational justice and affective organizational commitment, and the mediation role of organizational trust in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data from 706 employees working in 65 universities across China, South Korea, and Australia. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses were employed to examine the cross-cultural equivalence of the measures. Hierarchical regressions were performed to test moderating effects of the two cultural value orientations.
Findings
Results from the full sample showed that Doing and Mastery moderated the distributive justice-commitment relationship and the procedural justice-trust relationship. Comparisons between countries demonstrated limited cross-cultural differences.
Practical implications
The present study adds to the understanding of the impact of individual and cultural differences on the relationship between justice and commitment, helping managers understand how employees’ reactions to justice are influenced by cultural value orientations.
Originality/value
This study is a pioneer in empirically integrating the value orientation framework (e.g. Doing and Mastery orientations) and justice research in a cross-cultural context based in the Asia Pacific region. It also advances cross-cultural justice research through using a mediation-moderation combination.