Victoria Crittenden and William Crittenden
As a business executive and philanthropist, Mary Kay Ash is legendary as a glass-ceiling breaker. With the belief that Mary Kay Ash is both modern and relevant, while…
Abstract
Purpose
As a business executive and philanthropist, Mary Kay Ash is legendary as a glass-ceiling breaker. With the belief that Mary Kay Ash is both modern and relevant, while simultaneously legendary, the overall purpose of this paper is to explore the role of Mary Kay Ash as an influential entrepreneur. This research responds to the call by Cogliser and Brigham (2004) for an increased understanding of how entrepreneurial leaders influence, challenge, inspire and develop followers.
Design/methodology/approach
Following on research by Hoppe (2013), this objective was accomplished via a pentadic analysis of Mary Kay Ash’s rhetoric aimed to influence the mental mindset of readers (followers) over the course of generations. Burke’s pentad was the sense-making tool used for examining Ash’s rhetoric of influence as an entrepreneurial leader. The data used in the pentadic analysis were also analyzed via Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) and IBM Watson Emotion Analysis to see where analyses might converge or diverge.
Findings
Based on the analysis of her written work, Mary Kay Ash resided at the intersection of leadership and entrepreneurship and, in so doing, was an influencer. Her primary rhetorical approach to influencing was idealism. Interwoven in her writings, she also exhibited both pragmatism and realism. She knew that she had to start the business to have the future she desired and that she needed to train her team appropriately for success to be forthcoming. The motivation in Mary Kay Ash’s rhetoric was that of influencing people so they would be the best that they could be.
Research limitations/implications
Qualitative research brings with it an array of inevitable research problems. Pentadic analysis cannot be judged by the basic objective standards of reliability and validity because objective reality does not exist in personal interpretation. That is, one person as a critic cannot be impartial because the interpretation is only one personal way of viewing the data and another critic might view the same pentads and come up with different ratios. With this subjectivity in mind, however, the data used in the pentadic analysis were also analyzed via LIWC and IBM Watson Emotion Analysis to see where analyses might converge or diverge.
Practical implications
The findings from this research denote clearly that Mary Kay Ash was a forerunner of the modern day influencer. As a primogenitor of the influencer marketing phenomenon, Mary Kay Ash’s entrepreneurial legacy is expected to continue through generations of followers. This finding speaks to the importance of today’s entrepreneurs using the spoken and written word to influence others and create a lasting organizational legacy.
Originality/value
Countless scholars have used pentadic analysis, with a variety of artifacts, to examine the motives behind the rhetoric. However, rhetoric as a means of persuasion and influence has received little attention within the context of the written works by management gurus (Jones et al., 2009), and, aside from the exploration by Berglund and Wigren (2012), the narrative of entrepreneurial influence has not benefitted from close examination.
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THE topics of the Library Association Conference and the election of the Council of the Association naturally absorb a great deal of attention this month. To deal with the second…
Abstract
THE topics of the Library Association Conference and the election of the Council of the Association naturally absorb a great deal of attention this month. To deal with the second first: there were few novelties in the nominations, and most of the suggested new Councillors are good people; so that a fairly good Council should result. The unique thing, as we imagine, about the Library Association is the number of vice‐presidents, all of whom have Council privileges. These are not elected by the members but by the Council, and by the retiring Council; they occupy a position analagous to aldermen in town councils, and are not amenable to the choice or desires of the members at large. There are enough of them, too, if they care to be active, to dominate the Council. Fortunately, good men are usually elected, but recently there has been a tendency to elect comparatively young men to what are virtually perpetual seats on the Council, simply, if one may judge from the names, because these men occupy certain library positions. It, therefore; is all the more necessary that the electors see that men who really represent the profession get the seats that remain.
Mary Johnson, AzTeC Board of Directors, Al Crawford, Mike Emerson, Mark Goldstein, Richard Gooding, Edward G. Groenhout, John B. Kelly and Robert Machinski
Several telecommunication networking activities are underway in Arizona. The state is experiencing a tremendous rate of growth, with an accompanying demand for services. Arizona's…
Abstract
Several telecommunication networking activities are underway in Arizona. The state is experiencing a tremendous rate of growth, with an accompanying demand for services. Arizona's geography is a challenge to the telecommunications industry with its mix of desert, mountains, and federal lands, including recreational areas and Indian reservations. While the majority of the population live in a few urban areas, there is the demand in the rural areas for equal access to information.
In order to succeed in an action under the Equal Pay Act 1970, should the woman and the man be employed by the same employer on like work at the same time or would the woman still…
Abstract
In order to succeed in an action under the Equal Pay Act 1970, should the woman and the man be employed by the same employer on like work at the same time or would the woman still be covered by the Act if she were employed on like work in succession to the man? This is the question which had to be solved in Macarthys Ltd v. Smith. Unfortunately it was not. Their Lordships interpreted the relevant section in different ways and since Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome was also subject to different interpretations, the case has been referred to the European Court of Justice.
This chapter examines disability rights movement's rejection of a right to physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Supporters of PAS frame the right to enlist a physician's help in…
Abstract
This chapter examines disability rights movement's rejection of a right to physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Supporters of PAS frame the right to enlist a physician's help in determining the nature and timing of one's death as a fundamental liberty interest and as a right to privacy. The disability opposition counters this with disparate impact and slippery slope arguments and stories of disability pride as a rhetorical rejection of a right it deems dangerous and discriminatory. In examining this clash of rights talk, this chapter analyzes the legal and political consequences of anti-rights rhetoric by a movement that is grounded in notions of autonomy and self-determination.
William R. McLucas, Laura S. Wertheimer, Andrea J. Robinson, Mary Jo Johnson, Thomas W. White, Jonathan D. Rosenfeld, Michael R. Dube and Arian M. June
The purpose of this paper is to recommend proactive measures that companies should take to manage reports of securities violations under the SEC's new whistleblower program.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to recommend proactive measures that companies should take to manage reports of securities violations under the SEC's new whistleblower program.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explains the whistleblower bounty program and recommends ten proactive measures that companies should consider.
Findings
Companies have an incentive to investigate reports of potential violations quickly while also ensuring compliance with the anti‐retaliation protections.
Practical implications
Companies should take steps now to bolster internal reporting and investigative procedures and encourage employees to utilize internal reporting mechanisms.
Originality/value
The paper provides expert advice from experienced securities and financial services lawyers.
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Purpose – This study explores the contributions of African immigrant women, as transnational change-agents, to community development in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Greater…
Abstract
Purpose – This study explores the contributions of African immigrant women, as transnational change-agents, to community development in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Greater Boston and Philadelphia areas.
Design/methodology/approach – This study draws on theories and concepts in migration and feminist studies, such as transnationalism and intersectionality, and uses snowball sampling to conduct in-depth, structured interviews with African immigrant entrepreneurs and civic leaders.
Findings – Although their intersectional status affected their personal and professional lives, these African women adopted a new Pan-Africanism, which enabled them to contribute to development in their homelands and especially to urban revitalization in the United States.
Originality/value of the paper – This research demonstrates African immigrant women's agency in their “home” and “host” societies conducted within the frameworks of transnationalism and intersectionality. It provides insights about African immigrants’ experiences that may be useful in immigration policy.
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Chad Laux, Mary Johnson and Paul Cada
The purpose of this paper is to utilize critical success factors (CSF) and identify items Green Belt (GB) practitioners note as barriers to completion of Six Sigma (SS) projects…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to utilize critical success factors (CSF) and identify items Green Belt (GB) practitioners note as barriers to completion of Six Sigma (SS) projects in a major manufacturer setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The design of this paper is a descriptive study of a single location of a global manufacturer’s internal data and survey of accredited GBs who have completed an SS project for company accreditation utilizing company focus on CSFs.
Findings
The results demonstrate the GB practitioners have competing priorities, have time constraints and lack project management skills that reduce timely completion of SS projects. Top management responsibility for SS GB projects are defined through the CSFs of leadership, project management and project selection.
Research limitations/implications
This study pertains to the single manufacturing location of a major, multinational company. The survey of SS GBs is limited to those individuals who have become accredited to company requirements, in the initial stages of strategic implementation, resulting in a small sample size. All GB projects follow the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) methodology. The implications may be reproduced in similar environments where GBs conduct SS projects to test the robustness of the study.
Practical implications
This study underscores the importance of proper coaching and mentoring of SS practitioners, especially those who are expected to contribute as GBs in a part-time manner. Implementation of SS goes beyond initial deployment and requires active mentoring of GB practitioners to make sure that SS projects get proper focus. The results are relevant to both researchers and practitioners.
Originality/value
This paper examines SS projects with a GB perspective, an important contribution to SS but lacking in the literature. While GBs are important to SS implementation, and serve as a pathway to fulltime SS personnel, there are few studies that note this work. This study will support practitioners in the importance of wider SS deployment through active support of GBs, where top management responsibility for GB success is defined through CSFs for improvement.
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Roseann Giarrusso, Du Feng, Qian‐wei Wang and Merril Silverstein
Increasing numbers of grandparents are raising their grandchildren because of problems within the parental generation such as drug and alcohol addiction, AIDS, divorce, and…
Abstract
Increasing numbers of grandparents are raising their grandchildren because of problems within the parental generation such as drug and alcohol addiction, AIDS, divorce, and unemployment. Yet little is known about how grandparents who “parent” or “co‐parent” then‐grandchildren differ from other grandparents, or the extent to which parenting or co‐parenting grandchildren affects grandparent's psychological, physical, or financial well‐being, or feelings of family solidarity. The purpose of this research is to: (1) compare the characteristics of grandparents who go on to parent or co‐parent their grandchildren to grandparents who do not, and (2) assess the effects of entering the two caregiving arrangements — parenting and co‐parenting — on changes in grandparent's psychological, physical, and financial well‐being, as well as their feelings of family solidarity. The data for this study came from 659 grandparents from the USC Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSG) who participated in at least two consecutive waves of data collection measured at three year intervals between 1985 to 1994: parenting grandparents (N = 12), co‐parenting grandparents (N = 27), and non‐parenting grandparents (N = 620). Analysis of the quantitative data reveals that grandparents who parent or co‐parent their grandchildren tend to be younger and less healthy than non‐parenting grandparents. Contrary to expectation, the data also indicate that there is no statistically significant decline in psychological, physical, or financial well‐being, nor in normative or marital solidarity after grandparents begin to caregive. Although the majority of grandparents show stability or improvement in overall psychological well‐being, some show decline. The qualitative data suggests that the extent to which grandparents can choose their level of involvement in caregiving influences and the age of the grandchild, whether they experience caregiving as positive or negative.