Abstract
Subject area
Leadership.
Study level/applicability
The case is suitable for MBA, Executive level courses.
Case overview
Yongye Group is a biotechnological enterprise in Inner Mongolia, China. In China, people lack trust in economic transactions due to the transitional state of the economy, especially regarding food safety. To respond to this situation, Wu Zishen, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Yongye Group, was determined to build trust among employees, distributors, farmers, and consumers towards the company. To this end, he started using a creative incentive system with employees and stakeholders: the pay-before-performance incentive system. According to this system, the reward is delivered in advance, contrary to be paid after the fulfillment of the task. This practice is meant to transform employees' work attitude from a passive “being told to work” to a more proactive “I want to work” mentality. When such an incentive system is practiced with customers and external distributors, it sends a message that the company is “treating customers as company employees”, which means that they are trusted as if they were part of the company itself. Wu Zishen also introduced a coherent series of leadership practices that generate a truly proactive culture in the organization.
Expected learning outcomes
From this case, students will learn how to create a proactive culture in business organizations and the effect of pay-before-performance on employees' work motivation.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes and an exercise for class-based discussion are available.
Details
Keywords
Looks at leadership from a relational perspective. This perspective focuses on the relationship that is created between a leader and a collaborator. We call this relationship a…
Abstract
Looks at leadership from a relational perspective. This perspective focuses on the relationship that is created between a leader and a collaborator. We call this relationship a partnership, and distinguish three types of partnerships: transactional, transformational, and transcendental. The type of partnership that the leader is able to create, determines the quality of the collaborator’s following behaviors, and demonstrates sets of values and behaviors that the leader shows in action. Transcendental leadership adds to the transformational one a service orientation, which solves the possible manipulative side of tranformational leaders.
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Steven A.Y. Poelmans, Nuria Chinchilla and Pablo Cardona
Several authors have tried to explain the variation across firms in the implementation of work‐family programmes in terms of the employment strategy of these firms and…
Abstract
Several authors have tried to explain the variation across firms in the implementation of work‐family programmes in terms of the employment strategy of these firms and institutional pressures. But most of these studies have been done in the US context. This study replicates these studies in Spain, which has a very different legal, cultural, and labour market context and where the diffusion of work‐family programmes has only recently started. Using data from a sample of 131 Spanish, mostly private firms, tests five hypotheses that may explain the adoption of family‐friendly human resources management policies. Finds that even in this particular context both the employment strategy and some institutional pressures play an important role. The size of the firm, the percentage of female employees, the presence of a high‐commitment work system and the tightness of the labour market are associated with the implementation of a work/family programme. With the increasing participation of female workers and the ageing of the population expects that work/family programmes will continue to diffuse in Spain.
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Andrés Barrios, Sonia Camacho and Catalina Estrada-Mejia
This paper aims to explore the intersection between service and social innovation, using a service-dominant logic (SDL) ecosystem approach to analyze how service innovations…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the intersection between service and social innovation, using a service-dominant logic (SDL) ecosystem approach to analyze how service innovations cocreate transformative value for individuals and communities.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study, with different data sources, is used to understand different innovations in a program that provides financial training to women in poverty in Colombia.
Findings
In the program’s service ecosystem, actors worked in tandem to develop dialogical service innovations. These service innovations transformed into social innovations, cocreating transformative value at different levels of the service ecosystem, including beneficiaries, families and communities.
Research limitations/implications
First, this study illustrates how, during service value cocreation experiences, a dialogical innovation path occurs with the simultaneous participation of different service entities. Second, it uses transformative value cocreation to integrate service and social innovations conceptually. Third, it reveals how service innovation cocreates transformative value at different levels of the service ecosystem. Fourth, it shows how technology in its material and immaterial forms, working as an operand and operant role, respectively, facilitates service innovations.
Practical implications
This study illustrates how a wider service focus including all actors involved, in addition to a holistic view of beneficiaries, can prompt service and social innovations.
Originality/value
Service and social innovations have been seen as parallel fields. This study uses SDL to integrate these types of innovation processes and outcomes by applying the concept of transformative value.
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Shaila Rao, Cristina M. Cardona and Esther Chiner
The focus of special education around the globe may be to provide specialized instruction to meet unique needs of children to help them achieve their full potential. However, each…
Abstract
The focus of special education around the globe may be to provide specialized instruction to meet unique needs of children to help them achieve their full potential. However, each country around the globe may also have its own unique issues, barriers, legal frames, policies, and practices, as well as a history of its origin and evolution of policies and practices that govern special education in that country. This chapter describes how special education in Spain originated and evolved to its current state. It includes the following chapter sections: origins of special education in Spain; legislative acts; prevalence and incidence of various recognized disability areas; an overview of Spain’s education system including special needs education; current assessment and intervention practices; teacher education practices; family involvement considerations; and future challenges to special education.
Juan Camilo López-Vargas, José D. Meisel, Diana María Cárdenas-Aguirre and Pablo Medina
The study aims to present an agent-based simulation model (ABM) for exploring interorganizational coordination scenarios in local disaster preparedness. This approach includes…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to present an agent-based simulation model (ABM) for exploring interorganizational coordination scenarios in local disaster preparedness. This approach includes local actors and logistical processes as agents to compare various strategic coordination mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
The ABM model, developed in the Latin American context, specifically focuses on a case study of Colombia. Three coordination mechanisms (centralized, decentralized and cluster-type) have been evaluated using three performance indicators: effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility.
Findings
Simulation results show that the decentralized scenario outperforms in terms of efficiency and flexibility. On the contrary, the centralized and cluster-type scenarios demonstrate higher effectiveness, achieving a greater percentage of requirements coverage during the disaster preparedness stage. The ABM approach effectively evaluates strategical coordination mechanisms based on the analyzed performance indicators.
Research limitations/implications
This study has limitations due to the application of results to a single real case. In addition, the focus of the study is primarily on a specific type of disaster, specifically hydrometeorological events such as flash floods, torrential rains and landslides. Moreover, the scope of decision-making is restricted to key actors involved in local-level disaster management within a municipality.
Originality/value
The proposed ABM model has the potential as a decision-making tool for policies and local coordination schemes for future disasters. The simulation tool could also explore diverse geographical scenarios and disaster types, demonstrating its versatility and broader applicability for further insights and recommendations.