Jonathan M. Hollister, Laura I. Spears, Marcia A. Mardis, Jisue Lee, Charles R. McClure and Elizabeth Liebman
In response to recent calls for research relating to employers’ perceptions of the workplace readiness of new graduates in a variety of fields, the purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
In response to recent calls for research relating to employers’ perceptions of the workplace readiness of new graduates in a variety of fields, the purpose of this paper is to report North Florida employers’ perceptions of information technology (IT) program graduates’ workplace readiness. These findings are relevant to stakeholders in growing technology regions.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers conducted 18 semi-structured interviews with IT employers in North Florida. Data were deductively coded with codes derived from national standards. Interviewee verbatim was also inductively coded by theme.
Findings
While employers valued a blend of technical and general skills and hands-on experience, they also sought new professionals who possessed fundamental understandings of business and computer programming to tailor their problem-solving skills to the specific company environment.
Research limitations/implications
This research represents a limited number of employer viewpoints in one representative community.
Practical implications
Ongoing industry input into curricula and expanded experiential opportunities may ensure that graduates are prepared to address current and future IT developments. Because the region under study was typical of many regions with growing technology sectors, these findings may inform partnerships, curriculum, and program design.
Originality/value
Given the rapid growth and constant advances of the IT sector, institutions with IT degree programs are challenged to ensure that their curricula are current and meeting the needs of employers. This study’s findings may offer timely insight into elements of workforce preparedness.
Details
Keywords
Elizabeth Tran and Barbara Demmig‐Adams
The purpose of this review is to summarize the available literature on the effect of vitamin and mineral supplements, especially in doses exceeding recommended daily allowances.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this review is to summarize the available literature on the effect of vitamin and mineral supplements, especially in doses exceeding recommended daily allowances.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive search and analysis of original, peer‐reviewed literature on supplementation studies was conducted.
Findings
High doses of vitamins and minerals can be harmful instead of beneficial. Supplementation of vitamins and minerals, in general, may be most beneficial, and perhaps only beneficial, to individuals with a nutrient‐deficient diet. Consumers thus need to be weary of the safety and efficacy of their supplements. While vitamins and minerals are vital to life, the optimal doses of each required nutrient are currently not known.
Research limitations/implications
Lack of standardization between studies makes it difficult to compare the results from different studies.Practical implications – Based on this review, a recommendation can be made to avoid high dose supplements and obtain vitamins from foods to the greatest extent possible.Originality/value – This review is unique in its comprehensive nature that allows the identification of common underlying problems with the supplementation of different groups of vitamins.
Details
Keywords
Luis Alfonso Dau, Elizabeth Marie Moore and Margaret Soto
The purpose of this chapter is to examine how multinational firms have an added incentive to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to maximize profitability and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is to examine how multinational firms have an added incentive to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to maximize profitability and adapt to the changing normative climate in a post Great Recession economy.
Methodology/approach
This chapter builds on institutional theory using contextual evidence from Mexican firms to provide insight into the varying pressures facing local and multinational enterprises in emerging markets.
Findings
This chapter highlights different sets of pressures faced by emerging market firms, both domestic and multinational. This chapter contends that emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) are incentivized to uphold CSR practices to a greater degree than domestic firms from emerging markets.
Research limitations
Contextual evidence for this chapter was confined to Mexican firms, which provides an opportunity for future research to be carried out from alternative emerging markets.
Social and practical implications
From a social standpoint, this chapter sheds light on the challenges of globalization and the current rift between national level policies, coinciding behavior, and global expectations. From a practical standpoint, this chapter could inform and alert CEOs and practitioners to the nuances of CSR expectations, contingent upon the sphere in which they choose to operate in.
Originality/value
This chapter contributes to the growing dialogue on EMNEs while highlighting the schism between national and global expectations for CSR. Further, this chapter adds to the literature on institutional theory by connecting it to the in-group and out-group literature from sociology.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the corporate governance and financial characteristics of firms under the new Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX) accounting regime.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the corporate governance and financial characteristics of firms under the new Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX) accounting regime.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper first compares a comprehensive set of characteristics across firms in two states of SOX Section 404 status–Compliance and Violation. It then tests for determinants of SOX compliance in a logistic regression setting.
Findings
Several differences between compliance groups in terms of equity ownership, board structure, and executive compensation schemes are reported. However, it appears that firms found to be in violation of SOX are not systematically worse when it comes to common measures of corporate governance. The financial structure and soundness of the groups of firms are very similar. The strongest determinant of Section 404 compliance is firm size.
Originality/value
This result supported anecdotal evidence that compliance with SOX is achieved primarily by firms that can afford it. Further, the paper highlights an important policy issue: Is SOX really differentiating firms in terms of corporate governance or in terms of size?
Details
Keywords
Elizabeth T. Welsh, Deshani B. Ganegoda, Richard D. Arvey, Jack W. Wiley and John W. Budd
This paper aims to examine the relationship between CEO compensation and employee attitudes.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between CEO compensation and employee attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
Based upon equity/organizational justice theories and the CEO compensation literature, hypotheses were developed which suggest that executive compensation and employee attitudes will be related. These hypotheses were tested by linking a large‐scale survey of employee attitudes to CEO compensation data for public companies based in the USA.
Findings
Employee attitudes appear to be related to some measures of CEO compensation, although sometimes the relationship that was found was negative and sometimes it was positive, but in all cases the effect size was quite small. Specifically, change in CEO salary was negatively related to evaluation of senior management and general satisfaction. However, change in total CEO compensation was positively related to evaluation of senior management and general satisfaction, while CEO bonus level was positively related to general satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of this study include the inability to show a causal relationship, limited external validity, equations that explain only a small amount of variance and attitudinal measures that are single source. Future research which helps understand what employees know and why differences across organizations exist would be helpful.
Practical implications
From an employee attitude perspective, changing performance‐based components of CEO compensation (e.g. bonus) is better than changing CEO salary. However, if salary is going to be increased, a communication plan for employees should be developed.
Originality/value
Whether executive compensation has an impact on employees' attitudes has not been explored previously.
Details
Keywords
Twenty years before Sherlock Holmes donned his deerstalker and informed Watson that “the game's a‐foot!” an American woman, Seely Regester, pub‐lished a mystery entitled The Dead…
This paper focuses on governance in higher education in China. It sees that governance as distinctive on the world scale and the potential source of distinctiveness in other…
Abstract
This paper focuses on governance in higher education in China. It sees that governance as distinctive on the world scale and the potential source of distinctiveness in other domains of higher education. By taking an historical approach, reviewing relevant literature and drawing on empirical research on governance at one leading research university, the paper discusses system organisation, government–university relations and the role of the Communist Party (CCP), centralisation and devolution, institutional leadership, interior governance, academic freedom and responsibility, and the relevance of collegial norms. It concludes that the party-state and Chinese higher education will need to find a Way in governance that leads into a fuller space for plural knowledges, ideas and approaches. This would advance both indigenous and global knowledge, so helping global society to also find its Way.