Yonjoo Cho, Jiwon Park, Soo Jeoung Han and Yedam Ho
The purpose of this paper is to explore how multinational corporations’ (MNCs’) women leaders in South Korea (Korea) have overcome career challenges in the process of becoming…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how multinational corporations’ (MNCs’) women leaders in South Korea (Korea) have overcome career challenges in the process of becoming CEOs. The two guiding questions for this study included: what career challenges have MNCs’ women leaders in Korea faced to become CEOs? How have they overcome their career challenges?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a basic qualitative research design, the goal of which is to understand how people make sense of their lives and experiences. Qualitative data were collected by semi-structured interviews with 15 women CEOs at MNCs in Korea to capture their lived experiences (challenges and strategies) in their careers. The authors used NVivo 11, a qualitative data analysis software, to analyze the interview data.
Findings
From data analysis, the authors identified five themes including: becoming a CEO, key success factors, MNC culture, career challenges and career development strategies. The authors found that in the process of becoming CEOs, 15 women leaders faced career challenges that are largely generated by traditional culture, work stress and work–life balance. The authors also found that the women leaders became CEOs through diverse on-the-job experiences (e.g. marketing and sales) and positions (e.g. managers, senior managers and regional directors) with organizational support (e.g. supervisor support).
Research limitations/implications
Given research on organizational support for leadership, human resource practices and working conditions, this study’s findings have qualitatively confirmed the importance of organizational support for women CEOs’ career success. For theory building in women in leadership, the authors suggest that researchers investigate the complex process of becoming women CEOs, including their early experiences in their career in tandem with family background, organizational climate and national culture.
Practical implications
The study findings on women CEOs’ career strategies can be used as a reference for women in the leadership pipeline who aspire to take leadership positions in organizations. A lack of role models or mentors for women leaders is one of the reasons why women give up on their career. Learning career strategies (e.g. global development programs, mentoring and networks) that women CEOs have employed to overcome their career challenges can help women in the leadership pipeline from their early career on.
Originality/value
The authors found that both internal and external factors combined were instrumental in the women CEOs’ career success. What stood out from this study was that the women’s desirable personality attributes might not have materialized without the MNC culture that has been supportive for these women. The women CEOs shared their company’s values and philosophy that is based on gender equality, received supervisor support that is crucial for their career success, experienced diverse jobs and positions along the way and were recognized for their work ethic. Given research on women leaders conducted largely in western contexts, this qualitative study on the lived experiences of women CEOs in MNCs contributes to emerging non-western research by capturing the importance of culture that is uniquely Korean.
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The literature on marriage formation neglects different pathways to marriage. This study focuses on arranged marriage, introduced marriage, and self-initiated marriage as three…
Abstract
The literature on marriage formation neglects different pathways to marriage. This study focuses on arranged marriage, introduced marriage, and self-initiated marriage as three main marriage pathways in East Asia and examines how people’s marriage pathway choices are associated with education and change over time in mainland China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Using data from the East Asian Social Survey, this study finds that education is associated with fewer arranged marriages and more self-initiated marriages and that more recent marriage cohorts also witness a decline in arranged marriages and an increase in self-initiated marriages. However, how introduced marriage is associated with education and change over time varies in four East Asian societies. The findings support the “developmentalism-marriage” framework that developmental idealism leads to modern marital practices.
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Yoshifumi Okamoto, Hiroshi Masuda, Yutaro Kanda, Reona Hoshino and Shinji Wakao
The purpose of this paper is the improvement of topology optimization. The scope of the paper is focused on the speedup of optimization.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is the improvement of topology optimization. The scope of the paper is focused on the speedup of optimization.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the speedup, the method of moving asymptotes (MMA) with constrained condition of level set function is applied instead of solving the Hamilton–Jacobi equation.
Findings
The acceleration of convergence of objective function is drastically improved by the implementation of MMA.
Originality/value
Normally, the level set method is solved through the Hamilton–Jacobi equation. However, the possibility of introducing mathematical programming is clear by the constrained condition. Furthermore, the proposed method is suitable for efficiently solving the topology optimization problem in the magnetic field system.
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Nam‐Hyeon Kim, Dong‐Won Sohn and James A. Wall
The first of two exploratory studies investigated the conflict management approaches of 310 South Korean leaders. Each recalled the most recent dispute they had encountered either…
Abstract
The first of two exploratory studies investigated the conflict management approaches of 310 South Korean leaders. Each recalled the most recent dispute they had encountered either between two subordinates or between a subordinate and a person outside the workgroup (i.e., an outsider). Subsequently, they reported the techniques used to manage the dispute. As predicted, the leaders were more assertive in managing subordinate‐subordinate conflicts. Unexpectedly, they also pressed their own subordinates quite forcefully in the subordinate‐outsider disputes. The second study investigated subordinates' interventions in their leaders’ disputes. In these conflicts, subordinates adopted a low‐key shuttle diplomacy; meeting separately with the parties, listening to their opinions, transmitting these to the other side, and calling for each side's empathy and understanding.
Yonjoo Cho, Jiwon Park, Soo Jeoung “Crystal” Han, Boreum Ju, Jieun You, Ahreum Ju, Chan Kyun Park and Hye Young Park
The purpose of this study was to compare South Korean female executives’ definitions of career success with those of male executives, identify their career development strategies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to compare South Korean female executives’ definitions of career success with those of male executives, identify their career development strategies for success and provide implications for research and practice. Two research questions guiding our inquiry included: How do female executives’ definitions of career success differ from those of male executives? What career development strategies do male and female executives use for career success?
Design/methodology/approach
A basic qualitative research design was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 male executives and 15 female executives in diverse corporations by using an interview protocol of 13 questions regarding participants’ background, definitions of career success and final thoughts. To analyze the interview data, we used both NVivo 11 and a manual coding method.
Findings
Gender differences were detected in the participants’ definitions of career success and success factors. As previous studies indicated, male and female executives had different perspectives on career success: men tended to define career success more objectively than women. Many male executives, through experiencing transforming changes in their careers, began to appreciate work–life balance and personal happiness from success. Gender differences were also detected in their career development challenges, meanings of mentors and networking activities. While work stress surfaced as a challenge that men faced, experiencing the token status in the gendered workplace was a major challenge for female participants.
Research limitations/implications
In this study, three research agendas are presented, needing further investigation on career success, women’s token status and comparative analyses.
Practical implications
Three implications for practice have been provided, including organizational support, government’s role and HRD’s role.
Originality/value
Gender differences in this study were not as distinctive as previous literature has indicated. Some male executives valued more subjective career success than others, while a few female executives spoke of more objective definitions than others. These subtle differences could be captured through in-depth interviews. By hearing the participants’ stories, both objective and subjective definitions of success, for both genders, could be observed, which might not have been possible in quantitative research. In addition, the study findings reflect the nature of a uniquely Korean context. The participants worked in a Confucian and military culture, which operates in hierarchical structures and the command and control system, coupled with a heightened camaraderie spirit in the workplace.
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Rtimi Youness and Frederic Messine
In magnetostatics, topology optimization (TO) addresses the problem of finding the distributions of both current densities and ferromagnetic materials to comply with fixed…
Abstract
Purpose
In magnetostatics, topology optimization (TO) addresses the problem of finding the distributions of both current densities and ferromagnetic materials to comply with fixed magnetic specifications. The purpose of this paper is to develop TO in order to design Hall-effect Thrusters (HETs).
Design/methodology/approach
In fact, TO problems are known to be large-scale optimization problems. The authors therefore adopt the adjoint method to reduce the computation time required to obtain the gradient information. In this paper, they illustrate the continuous variant of the adjoint method in the context of magnetostatics TO. Herein, the authors propose an implementation of the adjoint method then use it within a gradient-based optimization solver fmincon-MATLAB to solve a HET TO design problem.
Findings
By comparison with finite difference method, the authors validate the accuracy of the suggested implementation of the adjoint method. Then, they solve a large-scale HET TO design problem. The resultant design of TO is distinctly original and not intuitive.
Research limitations/implications
In this paper, the authors introduce TO as a tool that has allowed them to explore new and innovative design of a HET. However, although the design presented is original, its manufacture is not feasible. Thus, a discussion section has been included at the end of paper to suggest a possible way to concretize topological solutions.
Practical implications
TO helps to explore more original design possibilities. In this paper, the authors present an implementation of the adjoint method that makes it possible to solve efficiently and in less central processing unit time large-scale TO design problem.
Originality/value
An easy implementation of the adjoint method is presented in magnetostatics TO. This implementation was first validated by comparison with the finite difference method and then used to solve a large-scale design problem. The result of the TO design problem is distinctly original and non-intuitive.
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Reona Hoshino, Yoshifumi Okamoto and Shinji Wakao
Shape optimization using the level-set method is one of the most effective automatic design tools for electromagnetic machines. While level-set method has the advantage of being…
Abstract
Purpose
Shape optimization using the level-set method is one of the most effective automatic design tools for electromagnetic machines. While level-set method has the advantage of being able to suppress unfeasible shape, it has a weakness of being unable to handle complex topology changes such as perforate at material region. With this method, it is only possible to define simple connected topology, and it is difficult to determine the optimal shape which has holes. Therefore, it is important to efficiently expand the searching area in the optimization process with level-set method.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors introduce the newly defined hole sensitivity which is based on concept of topological derivatives, and combine it with level-set method to effectively create holes in the search process. Furthermore, they consider a variable bandwidth of gray scale, which indicates the transition width between air and magnetic body and combine it with the hole creation method described above. With these methods, the authors aim to expand the searching area in comparison with the conventional level-set method.
Findings
As a result of applying the proposed methods to a magnetic shielding problem, the multi-layered shielding which effectively reduces the magnetic flux in the target area, is successfully produced.
Originality/value
The proposed methods enable us to effectively create a hole and to expand the searching area in the topology optimization process unlike in the case of conventional level-set method.
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Rahul Khurana and Santosh Rangnekar
The study emphasizes the role of an individual's mindfulness and temperance in making employees fit their organizations by comparing the direct effect of mindfulness and its…
Abstract
The study emphasizes the role of an individual's mindfulness and temperance in making employees fit their organizations by comparing the direct effect of mindfulness and its indirect effect through temperance on the employees' person–organization fit (P-O fit). Data were collected from 185 Indian employees working at managerial positions in manufacturing and service industries through an online questionnaire in a cross-sectional research design. Structure equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the associations, and it was observed that mindfulness among employees is positively related to their P-O fit. Similarly, employees' temperance is also positively associated with their P-O fit. Furthermore, it is observed that temperance acts as a partial mediator between mindfulness and P-O fit. Mindful employees would be more aware of their surroundings, making them aware of the values that the workplace demands. The same awareness would compel the employees to have temperance (self-control) to keep their values in line with organizational values. The study contributes to the virtue theory and the value congruence theory in the organizational context. This study recommends that the management promotes mindfulness and temperance among the employees through various interventions and new technological aids to promote the P-O fit of the employees. To the best of our knowledge, this original work has novelty to investigate the relationship of mindfulness with P-O fit, taking into account the role of temperance of the employee.
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Hiroshi Masuda, Yoshifumi Okamoto and Shinji Wakao
The purpose of this paper is to solve efficiently the topology optimization (TO) in time domain problem with magnetic nonlinearity requiring a large-scale finite element mesh. As…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to solve efficiently the topology optimization (TO) in time domain problem with magnetic nonlinearity requiring a large-scale finite element mesh. As an actual application model, the proposed method is applied to induction heating apparatus.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve TO with efficient computation time, a multistage topology is proposed. This method can derive the optimum structure by repeatedly reducing the design domain and regenerating the finite element mesh.
Findings
It was clarified that the structure derived from proposed method can be similar to the structure derived from the conventional method, and that the computation time can be made more efficient by parameter tuning of the frequency and volume constraint value. In addition, as a time domain induction heating apparatus problem of an actual application model, an optimum topology considering magnetic nonlinearity was derived from the proposed method.
Originality/value
Whereas the entire design domain must be filled with small triangles in the conventional TO method, the proposed method requires finer mesh division of only the stepwise-reduced design domain. Therefore, the mesh scale is reduced, and there is a possibility that the computation time for TO can be shortened.