This paper reconceptualizes resistance as a stimulant of organizational learning from a change agent's perspective. Adopting a social constructivism lens, the paper argues that…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reconceptualizes resistance as a stimulant of organizational learning from a change agent's perspective. Adopting a social constructivism lens, the paper argues that employee resistance has the capacity to trigger individual, group and organizational learning. It explores the “how” question—how can employee resistance be transformed into organizational learning?
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes the qualitative research method of auto-ethnography. Sensemaking auto-ethnographic narrative accounts of two change agents, internal and external is used to synchronize resistance and learning as well as reflect on the positive impact of organizational change.
Findings
Rather than, suppressing resistance as a dysfunctional aspect of the change process, becoming aware and making sense of this “misconstrued barrier” to learning and change can transform it into an appropriate feedback mechanism to initiate organizational learning.
Practical implications
This paper emphasizes the role of change agents in the change process and how their understanding of the culture, change recipients, organizational climate and work environment could increase the success of transforming resistance into learning. Collaboration through social interaction, communication, participation and awareness creation are utilized as effective mechanisms to develop a learning environment.
Originality/value
This research was carried out within an academic setting in a challenging context where not much is known about change initiatives and resistance at a university level.
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Management research on serendipity, which is defined as a search that leads to an unintended discovery, has increased considerably over the last three decades. In this article…
Abstract
Purpose
Management research on serendipity, which is defined as a search that leads to an unintended discovery, has increased considerably over the last three decades. In this article, management research on serendipity (up to the end of 2021) is reviewed and synthesised.
Design/methodology/approach
A bibliometric analysis was conducted on 85 peer-reviewed articles extracted from the Scopus database, which was then integrated with a systematic literature review.
Findings
The bibliometric analysis revealed that management literature on serendipity is framed around four main thematic areas: conceptual boundaries, conditions favouring serendipity and outcomes, foreign market entry and the relationship between serendipity, networks and assets. A systematic literature review was then conducted on each of the identified clusters.
Originality/value
The present article offers a systematised view of the extant body of research on serendipity in management studies. Based on the findings, the main implications and future research agendas are discussed.
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Grace C. Khoury and Beverley McNally
The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a study exploring the challenges confronting the provision of human resource development (HRD) in large Palestinian…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a study exploring the challenges confronting the provision of human resource development (HRD) in large Palestinian organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methods approach was used to gather the data. The quantitative data were analysed using statistical programme for social sciences. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
The first challenge pertained to the need for large-scale investment in human capital while at the same time facing serious resource constraints. Additional challenges were; the operational nature of the HR function, the limited training and development expertise and the lack of alignment between educational institutions and employers’ needs.
Research limitations/implications
This exploratory study provides recommendations for future explanatory research to contribute to the literature examining national human resource development (NHRD) in high-conflict societies.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for both policy makers and the HRD profession. There are also implications for the prioritization of development funding.
Social implications
There is an identified need for closer alignment between the country’s education system, the needs of the workplace and the HRD function in organizations. The overarching recommendation is that the HRD function be considered from a NHRD and human capital theory perspectives.
Originality/value
This study is the first of its type to be conducted in Palestine. The findings highlight the importance of NHRD to the sustainable nation-building process in Palestine.
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Tulio Coelho, Sofia Diniz, Francisco Rodrigues and Ruben Van Coile
This paper aims to investigate the state of the art for the reliability evaluation of reinforced concrete beams in a fire situation. Special emphasis is placed on addressing which…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the state of the art for the reliability evaluation of reinforced concrete beams in a fire situation. Special emphasis is placed on addressing which parameters were considered probabilistically or deterministically, the prescribed probabilistic models for the assumed stochastic variables, the treatment of the heat transfer mechanism, the quantification of the structural fire performance and the assumed target reliability levels.
Design/methodology/approach
Research papers were identified through a search on the Web of Science, Google Scholar and detailed searches within the journals Journal of Structural Fire Engineering, Fire Technology and Fire Safety Journal, supplemented with references known by the authors.
Findings
Considering the state-of-the-art review, gaps in the literature are identified related to (1) the probabilistic evaluation of shear capacity for standard fires and parametric fires, and bending capacity for parametric fires, (2) the absence of reference fragility curves for immediate design application/code calibration and (3) the specification of target safety levels for reliability-based design.
Originality/value
The lack of research papers gathering studies on the reliability of reinforced concrete beams in fire situation makes it difficult to further develop research in the area. The value of this work lies precisely in the collection of the basic information, making it possible to identify gaps to be addressed in future research and the suggestion of a research framework.
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Daniel Paul Thanaraj, Anand N. and Prince Arulraj
This paper aims to explain the influence of Standard Fire as per ISO 834 on the strength and microstructure properties of concrete specimens with different strength grade.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explain the influence of Standard Fire as per ISO 834 on the strength and microstructure properties of concrete specimens with different strength grade.
Design/methodology/approach
The strength grades of concrete considered for the experimental investigation were Fck20, Fck30, Fck40 and Fck50. The specimens were heated up to 1, 2, 3 and 4 h as per standard fire curve. Effect of elevated temperature on compressive and flexural behavior of specimens with various strength grades was examined. Effects of age of concrete, weight loss, surface characteristics and thermal crack pattern were also investigated.
Findings
Experimental investigation shows that strength grade, duration of exposure and age of concrete are the key parameters affecting the residual strength of concrete. For the beams exposed to 3 and 4 h of heating, the residual flexural strength was found to be so insignificant that the specimens were not able to even sustain their own weight. The loss in compressive and flexural strength of Fck50 concrete specimens heated up to 1 h were found to be 26.41 and 86.03 per cent of the original unheated concrete, respectively. The weight loss was found to be more for higher grade concrete specimens, and it was about 8.38 per cent for Fck50 concrete. Regression analysis was carried out to establish the empirical relation between residual strength and grade of concrete. Scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis were carried out to examine the damage level of fire-affected concrete specimens.
Originality/value
Empirical relationship was developed to determine the residual strength of concrete exposed to elevate temperature, and this will be useful for design applications. This database may be useful for identifying member strength of reinforced beams subjected to various durations of heating so that suitable repair technique can be adopted from the available database. It will be useful to identify the proper grade of concrete with regard to fire endurance, in the case of concrete under compression or flexure.
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Bernhard A. Schrefler, Carmelo E. Majorana, Gabriel A. Khoury and Dariusz Gawin
This paper presents the physical, mathematical and numerical models forming the main structure of the numerical analysis of the thermal, hydral and mechanical behaviour of normal…
Abstract
This paper presents the physical, mathematical and numerical models forming the main structure of the numerical analysis of the thermal, hydral and mechanical behaviour of normal, high‐performance concrete (HPC) and ultra‐high performance concrete (UHPC) structures subjected to heating. A fully coupled non‐linear formulation is designed to predict the behaviour, and potential for spalling, of heated concrete structures for fire and nuclear reactor applications. The physical model is described in more detail, with emphasis being placed upon the real processes occurring in concrete during heating based on tests carried out in several major laboratories around Europe as part of the wider high temperature concrete (HITECO) research programme. A number of experimental and modelling advances are presented in this paper. The stress‐strain behaviour of concrete in direct tension, determined experimentally, is input into the model. The hitherto unknown micro‐structural, hydral and mechanical behaviour of HPC/UHPC were determined experimentally and the information is also built into the model. Two examples of computer simulations concerning experimental validation of the model, i.e. temperature and gas pressure development in a radiatively heated HPC wall and hydro‐thermal and mechanical (damage) performance of a square HPC column during fire, are presented and discussed in the context of full scale fire tests done within the HITECO research programme.
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Patrick Bamonte and Pietro Gambarova
Durability, high-temperature resistance, impact and blast resilience, radiation-shielding properties, irradiation endurance and - of course - good mechanical properties are…
Abstract
Durability, high-temperature resistance, impact and blast resilience, radiation-shielding properties, irradiation endurance and - of course - good mechanical properties are required of the cementitious composites to be used in a variety of high-performance structures. Among these, tall buildings, road and railway tunnels, off-shore platforms, gasification plants, wind and solar mills for the production of "clean" energy should be mentioned, as well as nuclear power plants, and radioactive- and hazardous-waste repositories. Hence, understanding, measuring and modelling concrete behavior under extreme environmental conditions is instrumental in making concrete structures safer and more efficient. To this end, the hot and residual properties associated with the exposure to high temperature, fire and thermal shock are treated in this paper. Reference is made to ordinary vibrated concrete (Normal-Strength Concrete - NSC), as well as to a number of innovative cementitious composites, such as Fiber-Reinforced Concrete - FRC, High-Performance/High-Strength Concrete - HPC/HSC, Ultra High-Performance/Very High-Strength Concrete - UHPC /VHSC, Self-Compacting/Consolidating Concrete - SCC, Light-Weight Concrete - LWC, shotcrete and high-strength mortars. It is shown that these materials can be "tailored" according to a variety of requirements and functions, even if several aspects of their behavior (like spalling in fire and long-term mechanical properties under sustained high temperature) are still open to investigation.
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Lillian T. Eby, Melissa M. Robertson and David B. Facteau
Interest in employee mindfulness has increased dramatically in recent years, fueled by several important conceptual articles, numerous studies documenting the benefits of…
Abstract
Interest in employee mindfulness has increased dramatically in recent years, fueled by several important conceptual articles, numerous studies documenting the benefits of mindfulness for employee outcomes, and the adoption of mindfulness-based practices in many Fortune 500 organizations. Despite this growing interest, the vast majority of research on employee mindfulness has taken an intrapersonal focus, failing to appreciate the ways in which mindfulness may enhance work-related relational processes and outcomes. The authors explore possible associations between mindfulness and relationally oriented workplace phenomena, drawing from interdisciplinary scholarship examining mindfulness in romantic relationships, child–parent relationships, patient–healthcare provider relationships, and student–teacher relationships. A framework is proposed that links mindfulness to three distinct relationally oriented processes, which are expected to have downstream effects on work-related relational outcomes. The authors then take the proposed framework and discuss possible extensions to a variety of unique workplace relationships and discuss critical next steps in advancing the relational science of mindfulness.
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Giovanna Xotta, Valentina A. Salomoni and Carmelo E. Majorana
Knowledge of the behavior of concrete at mesoscale level requires, as a fundamental aspect, to characterize aggregates and specifically, their thermal properties if fire hazards…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge of the behavior of concrete at mesoscale level requires, as a fundamental aspect, to characterize aggregates and specifically, their thermal properties if fire hazards (e.g. spalling) are accounted for. The assessment of aggregates performance (and, correspondingly, concrete materials made of aggregates, cement paste and ITZ – interfacial transition zone) is crucial for defining a realistic structural response as well as damage scenarios.
Design/methodology/approach
It is here assumed that concrete creep is associated to cement paste only and that creep obeys to the B3 model proposed by Bažant and Baweja since it shows good compatibility with experimental results and it is properly justified theoretically.
Findings
First, the three‐dimensionality of the geometric description of concrete at the meso‐level can be appreciated; then, creep of cement paste and ITZ allows to incorporate in the model the complex reality of creep, which is not only a matter of fluid flow and pressure dissipation but also the result of chemical‐physical reactions; again, the description of concrete as a composite material, in connection with porous media analysis, allows for understanding the hygro‐thermal and mechanical response of concrete, e.g. hygral barriers due to the presence of aggregates can be seen only at this modelling level. Finally, from the mechanical viewpoint, the remarkable damage peak effect arising from the inclusion of ITZ, if compared with the less pronounced peak when ITZ is disregarded from the analysis, is reported.
Originality/value
The fully coupled 3D F.E. code NEWCON3D has been adopted to perform fully coupled thermo‐hygro‐mechanical meso‐scale analyses of concrete characterized by aggregates of various types and various thermal properties. The 3D approach allows for differentiating each constituent (cement paste, aggregate and ITZ), even from the point of view of their rheologic behaviour. Additionally, model B3 has been upgraded by the calculation of the effective humidity state when evaluating drying creep, instead than using approximate expressions. Damage maps allows for defining an appropriate concrete mixture to withstand spalling and to characterize the coupled behaviour of ITZ as well.
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Grace Al Khoury, Alkis Thrassou, Ioanna Papasolomou and Demetris Vrontis
This study aims to descriptively identify and refine the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in the retail banking employee–customer contact context, and prescriptively use this…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to descriptively identify and refine the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in the retail banking employee–customer contact context, and prescriptively use this knowledge to develop a framework for improving true customer service without excess organizational cost, in Lebanon.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopts the classical interpretive/constructivist ontology and the interpretivism/constructivism epistemology, and it rests on a tripod of methodological foundations. The first leg is the theoretical work that sets the extant scientific ground for the empirical work to develop. The second incorporates the main (qualitative) empirical tools, i.e. 40 interviews with customers and HR managers (NVivo-analyzed), plus a critical incident technique study. The third includes the supportive tools of secondary data and an expert panel composed of industry and scholarly specialists.
Findings
EI was empirically shown to modulate the levels of customer satisfaction and to hold a critical role in the company–customer interface, albeit one that is currently and unjustly both undervalued and ineffectively controlled. The findings identify the key factors and exhibited behavioral attributes of EI within the customer service process, and they integrate all into a comprehensive framework of both scholarly and executive worth.
Originality/value
This study provides distinct theoretical elucidations and conceptualization that have identified and interrelated the relevant works on the subject; empirically refines the variables involved in the EI context of retail banking customer service; and culminates in the form of the proposed framework that incorporates and interrelates the findings into an empirical-data-based composition of both scholarly and executive orientation and worth.