José María González-González, Francisco D. Bretones, Rocío González-Martínez and Pedro Francés-Gómez
The purpose of this paper is to explore the psychological strategies as well as the rhetorical and discursive arguments developed in organizations and by individuals when they…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the psychological strategies as well as the rhetorical and discursive arguments developed in organizations and by individuals when they have to cope with the paradoxes and changes related to CSR.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the perspective of the paradox as an analytical framework to parse strategies developed in organizations as they cope with tensions and changes related to CSR. The authors conducted 50 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and the authors performed a qualitative analysis with the information compiled.
Findings
The main strategies for dealing with CSR paradoxes and changes consist of developing perceptual and motivational biases as well as explicative heuristic ones through which, from a discursive perspective, a coherent and conciliatory framework is presented with rhetoric that play a fundamental role in justifying CSR as a present hope over a future illusion regardless of the past reality.
Originality/value
The lesson to be drawn from the exploration is the following: managers and CSR officers need to leave behind fear, anxiety and defensive attitudes and accept the paradox by re-contextualizing the tension as a stimulus for conscious and reflexive confrontation with emotional equilibrium, this being defiantly motivating as a sensemaker. In this way, the approach to the present inconsistencies in CSR should not involve a dismissal of conflictive situations but rather the development of the capacity to transcend the tension emanating from them and to learn to manage organizations from this paradoxical reality.
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The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive organizational health (OH) framework for business organizations. The framework will present the antecedent-OH relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive organizational health (OH) framework for business organizations. The framework will present the antecedent-OH relationship with employee well-being (EWB) as a mediator.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study conducted a cross-sectional study using case study approach in which concurrent triangulation design was followed, and the collection of qualitative as well as quantitative data was conducted concurrently. A total of 441 structured survey questionnaires and 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews were collected from 10 laboratories of an Indian R&D organization.
Findings
The findings showed that EWB acts as a mediator in an antecedent-OH relationship supporting the full mediation model.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are limited to only R&D organizations. This framework can help organizations in establishing a proper communication channel and reducing occupational stress among employees by empowering the employees. Empowerment practices foster conditions which help the employee feel good about their job which shall help in enhancing EWB thereby, promoting culture for OH.
Originality/value
It is an attempt to conceptualize the concept of OH in business sector similarly as in the case of OH in the education sector.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify the dimensions of organizational health with the help of existing literature and focus group discussion on organizational health. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the dimensions of organizational health with the help of existing literature and focus group discussion on organizational health. The study also tries to categorize various antecedents and consequences of organizational health.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature review was conducted with limited search word on organizational health using databases like Emerald, Ebsco and Science direct. Focus group discussions were performed at Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute and National Metallurgical Laboratory – laboratories of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, an Indian R&D organization. A total of 29 male and 6 female respondents participated in the focus group discussion.
Findings
The results showed that various dimensions of organizational health which were found using focus group discussions were in congruence with the literature reviewed on organizational health. The findings of focus group discussion also listed the antecedents and consequences of organizational health in an R&D organization.
Research limitations/implications
The literature presented conflicting views on organizational health construct. The focus group discussion provided clarity on the dimensions of organizational health. An empirical research can be done on organizational health considering dimensions identified during the focus group discussion.
Originality/value
It is an attempt to conceptualize the construct of organizational health in a research and development organization with the help of focus group discussion.
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Leslie Ann Williams, Linda Atkinson, Sharon Dean, Tracy Watts McCarty, Emmett Mathews and Shelley Jaques-McMillin
To meet the needs of under-resourced, rural schools where teacher attrition is high, this case study examined how a school–university partnership strengthened teacher and leader…
Abstract
Purpose
To meet the needs of under-resourced, rural schools where teacher attrition is high, this case study examined how a school–university partnership strengthened teacher and leader abilities to support deeper learning for students.
Design/methodology/approach
This research focused on a 17-year collaborative partnership between one rural school district and a university research and outreach organization to develop deeper learning experiences for students through shared and supportive leadership and learning of teachers and leaders. The researchers utilized documents, field notes and interviews with administrators to validate the data.
Findings
The study’s findings suggest that participation in authentic, researched-based professional development through the partnership improved the skills of leaders and teachers to support deeper learning for students. This partnership heightened teacher and leader capacity to promote and support continued change and sustainability.
Originality/value
This case study explored how one university center collaboratively engaged with a district by sharing research and strategies to support the development of leaders and teachers to create deeper learning for students. Through these experiences, the district evolved its deeper learning system and improved its organizational effectiveness, leadership development and learning for all.
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Aldona Glińska-Neweś, Iwona Escher, Barbara Józefowicz and Alicja Łuka
Together with increasing ambiguity and frequency of changes, management becomes full of seemingly conflicting choices, i.e. paradoxes, coming up in the process of decision-making…
Abstract
Purpose
Together with increasing ambiguity and frequency of changes, management becomes full of seemingly conflicting choices, i.e. paradoxes, coming up in the process of decision-making. Successful management of paradoxes, i.e. treating them as “both/and” constructs leads to innovative solutions and better overall organizational performance. In response to a significant research gap regarding antecedents of managing paradoxes, the aim of the paper is to investigate how individual characteristics of strategic decision-makers, specifically their age, tenure and educational background, affect the ability to combine contradictions in their strategic choices.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study was conducted among 201 managers representing furniture companies in Poland. The CATI technique with an interview questionnaire was adopted in order to identify respondents' opinions on the main features, traits and dimensions of the strategy implemented in their companies. Participants' tenure, age and education were measured by single items.
Findings
The study suggests that the ability to manage paradoxes increases with age and tenure in a company and at a current position. At the same time economic/business educational background appears to be unsupportive in this regard.
Originality/value
While the issue of managing paradoxes energizes researchers in various disciplines, we still do not know much about antecedents of the process. The study shed light on effects that managers' demographics have on their ability of managing paradoxes. It contributes to the theory on strategic paradoxes as well as theory on the influence of decision-makers' individual characteristics on their decisions.