Gerard Callanan, Sandra M. Tomkowicz, Megan V. Teague and David F. Perri
This study aims to present a pedagogical approach that allows students to discuss and debate the differences between two competing models of corporate governance – the shareholder…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present a pedagogical approach that allows students to discuss and debate the differences between two competing models of corporate governance – the shareholder primacy philosophy and the stakeholder value viewpoint.
Design/methodology/approach
This study first presents the conceptual bases for each framework, noting that while shareholder primacy is the historically dominant approach to corporate governance that guide strategic business actions in the USA, pressures from investor and societal groups and government agencies have forced publicly traded companies to recognize the need to take stakeholder interests into account in strategic decision-making, as is the dominant model in Europe and other parts of the world. This study then provides a pedagogical structure on how these opposing perspectives can be used to foster discussion, debate and reflection within the classroom.
Findings
This paper presents a pedagogical structure that allows students to recognize the competing pressures that businesses face of maximizing profits versus concerns over social causes. There are a number of positive pedagogical outcomes that can be realized from a classroom discourse on the differing perspectives on strategic management, corporate governance and social responsibility.
Practical implications
This pedagogical structure should help future business leaders throughout the world understand the differences between the two models of corporate governance. This study offers suggestions on how this pedagogical structure can be used in the student assessment process.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the literature by providing a pedagogical structure to guide discussion and debate on the competing theories of corporate governance and how organizational decision-makers can devise strategies to manage the potential competing demands that can arise from the shareholder versus stakeholder models. It is highly relevant and well-suited for courses such as Business Law, Business Policy, Business and Society and Ethics.
Details
Keywords
This study acts as a proof of concept to address how general, broadly applicable barriers to starting a business impact entry across various firm sizes.
Abstract
Purpose
This study acts as a proof of concept to address how general, broadly applicable barriers to starting a business impact entry across various firm sizes.
Design/methodology/approach
The following investigation uses barriers to entry data in Teague (2016) to explore the costs of government intervention within the United States for 2011.
Findings
Results from cross sectional regression analysis of business entry rates across nine different business size classifications on a composite barrier to entry variable yield two main findings: (1) increase in barriers to entry decrease business growth for most establishment sizes and (2) increase in barriers to entry for larger firms result in positive entry rates.
Originality/value
This study is the first exploration of general, broadly applicable barriers to entry measures and entry rates. Its preliminary findings suggest that barriers to entry encourage development of larger business sizes at the possible expense of smaller businesses. This result encourages further work into the interconnectedness of government and business.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to present a new data set documenting various costs to starting a business across the 50 US states for the year 2011.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a new data set documenting various costs to starting a business across the 50 US states for the year 2011.
Design/methodology/approach
The first ranking weights and organizes measures using principal components analysis. The second ranking averages subcomponents of the data across groups of variables with common themes.
Findings
Most states largely maintain their relative position across both Methods 1 and 2 despite the difference in organization and weight of variables and groups across the two ranking methods – 21 of the top 25 states remained in the top 25 in both the Methods 1 and 2 rankings. Some states experience not insignificant changes between the two indexes and a few experience substantial changes. These changes can be attributed to the importance Method 1 places upon final fees, final processing time, and application formats for the Secretary of State.
Research limitations/implications
A lack of empirical evidence, additional data, and a definitive theory on the impacts of barriers to entry measures for the USA constrains both how the data are presented as well as which measures were collected. This paper attempts to accommodate for this by presenting rankings derived from different methodologies.
Practical implications
The composite barriers to entry measures can be used in policy analysis and possible research on rent-seeking. These data can also be used to study the determinants and relative costs of entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This paper presents entry-specific regulatory measures currently undocumented in the literature.
Details
Keywords
Sanjiv Gungadeen, Megan Paull and David Holloway
The purpose of this paper is to report on a study of change management practices in private sector organisations in the small island economy of Mauritius.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on a study of change management practices in private sector organisations in the small island economy of Mauritius.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with key decision makers and individuals who had experienced the organisational change process in three private organisations from different sectors in Mauritius: a bank, a hotel and a privatised state-owned enterprise. A grounded theory approach was employed to establish the key dimensions of organisational change in this setting.
Findings
Organisational change is a multi-dimensional, multi-directional and evolutionary process strongly influenced by the contextual and historical aspects of the country. The emerging key elements of change identified in the data confirmed a range of dimensions evident in the extant literature, but also identified a largely unacknowledged factor, considered to be central to the change process in Mauritian organisations. This emerging factor was identified as partisanship.
Originality/value
This study served to confirm six dimensions evident in the extant literature on organisational change: organisational structure, organisational culture, leadership processes, individuals, knowledge management and resistance to change. A seventh dimension, and heretofore largely unacknowledged factor, considered to be central to the change process in Mauritian organisations was also identified: partisanship. The study identified this emerging key dimension as having a pervasive influence. History, culture and context have served to embed this dimension in Mauritian organisations. Evidence is presented to illustrate how the process of organisational change is undertaken in Mauritius, and identify the role of partisanship. This has the potential to be applied to other small island economies with similar historical, cultural or contextual features.
Details
Keywords
Frieder Lempp, Kate Blackwood and Megan Gordon
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which mediation constitutes an appropriate and effective intervention in cases of alleged workplace bullying.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which mediation constitutes an appropriate and effective intervention in cases of alleged workplace bullying.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from 25 practising mediators in New Zealand by way of semi-structured interviews. The transcribed data was analysed by way of thematic analysis using the software NVivo11. The features of bullying cases identified as potential concerns for mediation in the literature acted as a coding framework, alongside the analytical framework for assessing dispute resolution processes developed by John Budd and Alexander Colvin.
Findings
A thematic analysis of the data revealed four key features of bullying experiences that mediators believed influenced the efficacy of the mediation process: emotional stability of the parties; power imbalance between the parties; insight and differing interpretations; and the impact of organisational context. Further, the analysis revealed two strategies to overcome barriers to the efficacy of mediation: considering mediation as part of a broader range of dispute resolution processes; and encouraging early low-level mediation intervention.
Research limitations/implications
This study only elicited the views of workplace mediators, many of whom were self-employed. Thus, the participants in the sample were likely to speak positively about the use of mediation. In part, this was helpful because the mediators spoke largely about how they made the process work allowing identification of techniques to improve the efficacy of mediation. However, future research is needed to explore the views of other parties, including parties to a bullying mediation, managers and/or human resources (HR) personnel.
Practical implications
Five recommendations for workplace mediators dealing with bullying cases are suggested: mediators should screen the emotional stability of the parties during the initial stages of the mediation; mediators should discuss with the parties the possibility and potential benefits of bringing along a support person; mediators should view their role more widely to influence the wider organisational contexts in which bullying occurs; informal mediation should take place before the escalation of a bullying experience; and mediators should consider completing an investigation prior to the start of the mediation.
Originality/value
Prior empirical studies on the efficacy of workplace mediation have not specifically investigated the use of mediation for bullying cases. This study addresses this gap in that it provides empirical support for the proposition that mediation in cases of bullying may only be appropriate under certain circumstances and that a flexible approach to mediation is required.