Edward O'Boyle and Meade O'Boyle
The purpose of this paper is to address the global dimensions of poverty, hunger, death, and disease.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the global dimensions of poverty, hunger, death, and disease.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors assemble the most recently available data on these four human scourges from reliable international sources.
Findings
Reducing the higher incidence of poverty, hunger, death, and disease in sub‐Saharan African countries depends critically on the extension of four revolutions – biological, intellectual, political, and scientific‐technological.
Originality/value
The paper selects and interprets these data from the perspectives of economics and paediatrics.
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Edward J. O’Boyle and Meade P. O’Boyle
Draws parallels between the contemporary community hospital and thetraditional agricultural commons. Identifies four principal attributesof common field agriculture and matches…
Abstract
Draws parallels between the contemporary community hospital and the traditional agricultural commons. Identifies four principal attributes of common field agriculture and matches them to contemporary arrangements in the management of the facilities of the community hospital. Points to several notable parallels between the modern workplace and the contemporary, natural resource commons. Hypothesizes that, as the post‐medieval sea change of social values transformed agriculture – most dramatically by the enclosure of the commons – so a sea change in values today is changing health care, inviting the recent wave of mergers and acquisitions reminiscent of the enclosing of the commons.
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Martin Götz and Ernest H. O’Boyle
The overall goal of science is to build a valid and reliable body of knowledge about the functioning of the world and how applying that knowledge can change it. As personnel and…
Abstract
The overall goal of science is to build a valid and reliable body of knowledge about the functioning of the world and how applying that knowledge can change it. As personnel and human resources management researchers, we aim to contribute to the respective bodies of knowledge to provide both employers and employees with a workable foundation to help with those problems they are confronted with. However, what research on research has consistently demonstrated is that the scientific endeavor possesses existential issues including a substantial lack of (a) solid theory, (b) replicability, (c) reproducibility, (d) proper and generalizable samples, (e) sufficient quality control (i.e., peer review), (f) robust and trustworthy statistical results, (g) availability of research, and (h) sufficient practical implications. In this chapter, we first sing a song of sorrow regarding the current state of the social sciences in general and personnel and human resources management specifically. Then, we investigate potential grievances that might have led to it (i.e., questionable research practices, misplaced incentives), only to end with a verse of hope by outlining an avenue for betterment (i.e., open science and policy changes at multiple levels).
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H. Kristl Davison, Phillip W. Braddy, John P. Meriac, Robert Gigliotti, Daniel J. Detwiler and Mark N. Bing
Workplace deviance remains a concern for many organizations, and narcissism has been identified as a primary contributor. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether…
Abstract
Purpose
Workplace deviance remains a concern for many organizations, and narcissism has been identified as a primary contributor. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether political skill and ambition interact with narcissism to attenuate or exacerbate workplace deviance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors surveyed a sample of 335 participants in leadership positions and empirically tested interactions among political skill, narcissism and ambition in predicting workplace deviance.
Findings
The authors performed moderated hierarchical regression analyses on the data to test the hypothesis and research question. Contrary to expectations, political skill attenuated the relationship between narcissism and workplace deviance. However, ambition was found to attenuate deviance, with the highest levels of deviance evident when narcissism was high, political skill was low, and ambition was also low.
Originality/value
Although research has examined the relationship between narcissism and workplace deviance, to the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first to examine the roles of political skill and ambition in attenuating the manifestation of narcissism into workplace deviance.
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Tochukwu Ben C. Onyido, David Boyd and Niraj Thurairajah
The purpose of this paper is to establish opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to become environmental businesses. The “Environmental Business” concept…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to become environmental businesses. The “Environmental Business” concept refers to a commercial organisation that provides goods and/or services which provide socio-environmental value and which are produced in such a way that the organisation addresses environmental and social problems.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviewing and observation were used to conduct a case study of how 30 SMEs prepared for the UK’s Green Deal programme in the West Midlands County, UK. In total, 20 interviews were conducted and 23 field notes were recorded. Based on the literature review, the research enquiry into practice, and the philosophical approach of pragmatism adopted by the research, a “Three Ps” (profit, process and product) analytical framework was established with which to operationalise the environmental business.
Findings
The research identifies tactical opportunities that assist SMEs to function as environmental businesses whilst maintaining the traditional focus on economic performance. It also shows the benefits and challenges involved.
Research limitations/implications
The research focused on a case study related to specific sectors (building and energy) within a specific UK region (West Midlands), which limits the generalisability of the results.
Practical implications
The research highlights practical opportunities for SMEs to address existing environmental and social problems through their products and processes and prevent new problems arising due to their operations.
Originality/value
This research represents an initial step in developing a pragmatic implementation model by which SMEs can overcome barriers to being environmental businesses whilst maximising business advantages.
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Niels Mygind and Thomas Poulsen
The purpose of this paper is to give an updated overview of the research on employee ownership. What does the scientific literature reveal about advantages and disadvantages? What…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to give an updated overview of the research on employee ownership. What does the scientific literature reveal about advantages and disadvantages? What can be learned from different models used in Italy, France, Mondragon (Spain), UK and US with many employee-owned firms in contrast to Denmark.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured review of the literature on employee. The paper identifies different mechanisms leading to effects on productivity, job stability, distribution, investment etc., and reviews the empirical evidence. The main barriers and drivers are identified and different models for employee ownership in Italy, France, Mondragon (Spain), UK and US are reviewed to identify potential models for a country like Denmark with few employee-owned firms.
Findings
The article gives an overview over the theoretical predictions and the main empirical evidence of the effects of employee ownership. The pros are greater employee identification with the firm and increased productivity reinforced by increased participation. Employee-owned firms have more equal distribution of wages and more stable employment, and they have greater mutual control between employees and fewer middle managers. The motivation effects may be smaller for large firms and lack of capital may lead to lower levels of investments and capital per employee.
Originality/value
Comprehensive and updated literature review on the effects and successful formats of employee ownership to identify models for implementation in countries with few employee-owned firms.
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Ajay K. Jain, Shalini Srivastava and Sherry E. Sullivan
The purpose of this paper is to respond to call for the greater study of emotional intelligence (EI) and leader effectiveness as well as the potential role of EI as a moderating…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to respond to call for the greater study of emotional intelligence (EI) and leader effectiveness as well as the potential role of EI as a moderating variable in non-Western countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper surveyed 352 managers in India in order to examine the relationship between EI and tolerance of ambiguity (TOA), respectively, and leader effectiveness as well as the potential moderating effects of EI on the relationship between TOA and leader effectiveness.
Findings
The paper found that both EI and TOA were significantly related to leader effectiveness. Additionally, EI significantly and positively moderated the relationship between TOA and leader effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
This study was composed of a single survey of a relatively small number of managers in one region of India. Also, while the paper controlled for some demographic variables, other factors, such as cognitive ability, which may have influenced the relationship between EI and leadership effectiveness, were not measured.
Originality/value
Despite the relative lack of empirical research on EI, it remains a highly popular topic. This study contributes to research on EI, has implications for the generalizability of EI in Asian countries, and contributes to an increased understanding of leadership in emerging markets.
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Drivers and barriers for employee ownership vary between countries because of differences in Politics, Institutions and the Economy (PIE). By analyzing this variation, the purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
Drivers and barriers for employee ownership vary between countries because of differences in Politics, Institutions and the Economy (PIE). By analyzing this variation, the purpose of this study is to answer why employee ownership has developed fast in the United States and not in Denmark.
Design/methodology/approach
The drivers and barriers for employee ownership are identified from the scientific literature, and the main societal dynamics are identified through the PIE model covering the dynamics between politics, institutional change and the economy. Politics focuses on different social groups influencing the development of institutions driving or hindering employee ownership in the economy.
Findings
United States has followed a self-enforcing circle with broad political support of “shared capitalism,” including the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) type of employee ownership. In Denmark, the labor movement rejected worker cooperatives as a main strategy and focused on building up the welfare state. Center-right parties favored employee stocks, but the institutional framework never overcame the barriers for employee ownership.
Originality/value
This is the first study to perform an analysis of politics, institutional change and economic development to explain drivers and barriers for employee ownership and to make a comparison between the development of employee ownership in the United States and Denmark.