There are various types of material that a library may wish to publish on the Web: promotional literature, catalogues of audiovisual collections, and community information systems…
Abstract
There are various types of material that a library may wish to publish on the Web: promotional literature, catalogues of audiovisual collections, and community information systems based on clickable images and maps are common examples. All present problems relating to information‐management and information‐retrieval issues that standard software packages have difficulty in addressing. Dynix's NetPublisher is presented here as a solution to such problems.
The development of the World‐Wide Web has caught the imagination not only of professional computer users, but also of large sections of the general public: news and feature items…
Abstract
The development of the World‐Wide Web has caught the imagination not only of professional computer users, but also of large sections of the general public: news and feature items concerning aspects of the Internet abound in the popular media, and these commonly specify the Web as the technology of choice for accessing a wide variety of information resources.
Lavagnon Ika, Jeffrey K. Pinto, Peter E.D. Love and Gilles Pache
Worldwide, major projects often make the headlines as they suffer from a fourfold whammy of delays, cost blowouts, benefit shortfalls and stakeholder disappointments. It seems…
Abstract
Purpose
Worldwide, major projects often make the headlines as they suffer from a fourfold whammy of delays, cost blowouts, benefit shortfalls and stakeholder disappointments. It seems that error and bias can explain their underperformance. Which overarching explanation outweighs the other? It is the question this paper aims to address.
Design/methodology/approach
Insights are garnered from decades of research on thousands of major projects in developed and developing countries worldwide. In particular, two high-profile project cases, the Veteran Affairs Hospital in Aurora, Colorado (USA) and the Philharmonie de Paris (France), are explored.
Findings
The case projects show that error and bias combine to best explain project (under) performance. Applying best practices or debiasing project cost and benefit estimates is insufficient to prevent cost blowouts and benefit shortfalls. The confrontation of the two overarching explanations is not merely platonic. It is real and may lead to a media and legal battle.
Originality/value
This viewpoint calls practitioners to transcend the error versus bias debate and reconcile two key characters in the world of major projects: the “overoptimistic” who hold a bias for hope and firmly believe that, despite error down the road, many projects would, in the end, “stumble into success” as creativity may come to the rescue; and the “overpessimistic” who hold a bias for despair and think many projects should not have been started.
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Peter B. Southard and Diane H. Parente
To determine the criteria for internal benchmarking candidate processes. Using those criteria, to develop a decision flowchart to employ internal or external benchmarking. To then…
Abstract
Purpose
To determine the criteria for internal benchmarking candidate processes. Using those criteria, to develop a decision flowchart to employ internal or external benchmarking. To then propose a framework for implementing internal benchmarking in an organization. Finally, to use a case study to apply both the Decision Flowchart and the proposed implementation framework.
Design/methodology/approach
The method is theoretical framework design supported by a case study.
Findings
The development of a practical flowchart and framework is achieved. This is successfully used in improving a business process thorough an actual case study.
Research limitations/implications
The information is limited to situations where quality programs including benchmarking are used or anticipated. Information is drawn from a single successful case study and existing literature.
Practical implications
Provides a practical prescriptive approach for identifying and applying the quality tool of benchmarking to internal processes.
Originality/value
This provides a new method of evaluating processes for improvement based on the availability of internal knowledge. No such flowchart has been proposed to date. It should be of use to both practitioners and academics by offering a step‐by‐step approach to improving their business processes and profitability.
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Alexander Kessler, Christoph Pachucki, Katharina Stummer, Michael Mair and Petra Binder
The purpose of this paper is to identify different types of organizational innovativeness in Austrian hotels and analyze their connection to (innovation) success. In the face of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify different types of organizational innovativeness in Austrian hotels and analyze their connection to (innovation) success. In the face of growing international competition, innovation is becoming increasingly important for Austria’s hotel industry. A prerequisite for innovation is organizational innovativeness.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a quantitative survey of 255 Austrian hotel businesses with a minimum of five employees. Innovativeness was measured by three dimensions (willingness, ability and possibility to innovate) and success by five dimensions (overall performance: financial, market and employee-related success; innovation success: product and process innovations). Findings were obtained by combining an exploratory factor analysis with a cluster analysis.
Findings
Factor analysis reveals five factors determining organizational innovativeness: “cooperation as trigger for change”; “acceptance of change”; “resource based scope for change”; “pluralism as trigger for change”; and “loose coupling and error-tolerance”. The cluster analysis identifies four types of hotels regarding organizational innovativeness indicating differences regarding the success dimensions: “potential innovators hindered by scarce resources and unsupportive structures”, “well-resourced conservatives”, “potential innovators hindered by a haphazard approach” and “cautious idea hunters”. On the whole, results show that a balanced configuration of organizational innovativeness combined with a cautious approach is connected with greater (innovation) success.
Research limitations/implications
Key-informant and survivor biases have to be considered as all items in the questionnaire were evaluated by self-assessment of the hotel management and only successful hotels (in the sense of survival) were analyzed. One important implication is that (innovation) success depends on the system that enables it; therefore, organizational innovativeness is a precondition of successful innovations. Nevertheless, there is little research on organizational innovativeness in the service sector so far.
Practical implications
This paper supports tourism businesses in understanding the concept of organizational innovativeness and its relation to (innovation) success. SMEs, which dominate the Austrian hotel industry, tend to focus on the financial aspect of innovativeness and, in general, do not consider the range of factors that constitute an organization’s innovativeness (willingness, ability and possibility to innovate) and the various outcomes.
Originality/value
By combining organizational innovativeness and (innovation) success, the paper applies an important element of innovation theory to the Austrian hotel industry. The characterization of different types of hotels regarding organizational innovativeness and success enables a (self-) assessment for hotel businesses and the deduction of customized implications.
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This chapter examines and discusses the unintended outcomes of the production bonus scheme the mine had instituted to motivate and increase the productivity of the frontline…
Abstract
This chapter examines and discusses the unintended outcomes of the production bonus scheme the mine had instituted to motivate and increase the productivity of the frontline mining teams. This is crucial given that the maladministration of the bonus system could lead to a range of undesired outcomes such as deteriorating levels of trust between management and frontline workers, prioritisation of production at the expense of safety, poor work relations and ultimately low levels of organisational, employee and team performance. There are a number of organisational, management and labour factors that can render a production bonus scheme effective or ineffective. These factors influence the nature and extent of worker reactions to the bonus scheme.
This chapter examines and discusses the factors that influenced the reaction of the mining teams to the team-based production bonus scheme and the extent to which mine management fulfilled its side of the bargain in the implementation of the production bonus. The chapter highlights the manner in which the team-based bonus system influenced teams of stope workers to engage in their informal organisational practice of making plan (planisa) in order to offset the snags that jeopardised their prospects of earning the production bonus. The chapter reveals that, to a large extent, the productivity bonus generated conflict rather than cooperation at the point of production down the mine. As a result, the incentive scheme failed to live up to expectations by not eliciting the desired levels of organisational, worker and team performance at the rock-face.
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A striking feature of Jaques' work is his “no nonsense” attitude to the “manager‐subordinate” relationship. His blunt account of the origins of this relationship seems at first…
Abstract
A striking feature of Jaques' work is his “no nonsense” attitude to the “manager‐subordinate” relationship. His blunt account of the origins of this relationship seems at first sight to place him in the legalistic “principles of management” camp rather than in the ranks of the subtler “people centred” schools. We shall see before long how misleading such first impressions can be, for Jaques is not making simplistic assumptions about the human psyche. But he certainly sees no point in agonising over the mechanism of association which brings organisations and work‐groups into being when the facts of life are perfectly straightforward and there is no need to be squeamish about them.
Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to…
Abstract
Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to improve measurement in the study of work organizations and to facilitate the teaching of introductory courses in this subject. Focuses solely on work organizations, that is, social systems in which members work for money. Defines measurement and distinguishes four levels: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Selects specific measures on the basis of quality, diversity, simplicity and availability and evaluates each measure for its validity and reliability. Employs a set of 38 concepts ‐ ranging from “absenteeism” to “turnover” as the handbook’s frame of reference. Concludes by reviewing organizational measurement over the past 30 years and recommending future measurement reseach.
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Suhaib B. Bani Kinana and Omar Arabiat
AI technology sparked such an apparently rigorous adjustment in the auditing field, radically changing the methods auditors work through. This surge disrupted the conventional…
Abstract
AI technology sparked such an apparently rigorous adjustment in the auditing field, radically changing the methods auditors work through. This surge disrupted the conventional processes, presenting both challenges and opportunities. Although AI technology empowered auditors to enhance quality through automating tasks such as data analysis, risk assessment, and error detection, it also carries severe implications. For example, utilizing machine learning algorithms can remarkably process financial data; in contrast, it also involves legal and ethical concerns that auditors should carefully address. This demonstrates that AI integration provides advanced tools for advanced analytics, anomaly detection, and trend identification and, at the same time, poses challengers represented in bias, data breach, and fraudulent activities. Such ethical considerations surrounding AI-augmented decision-making call for scrutiny and oversight to ensure regulatory compliance. Looking ahead, AI integration continues to redefine the audit landscape, reshaping the roles and responsibilities placed on auditors. As AI capabilities evolve, auditors can harness the power of data-driven insights, providing deeper and actionable recommendations. This shift towards an additionally data-centric and analytical approach elevates the audit value, driving greater assurance and guidance. As auditors embrace the opportunities presented by AI technology and navigate the associated challenges, they can successfully employ the capabilities that inspire innovation while bearing in mind the ethical dilemma that may arise later.
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Melissa G. Keith, Peter Harms and Louis Tay
The purpose of this paper is to provide an investigation of how different types of gig workers engage in the gig economy. Specifically, the authors distinguish between workers who…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an investigation of how different types of gig workers engage in the gig economy. Specifically, the authors distinguish between workers who view gig work as primary income (or not) and those workers who view it as a job (or not).
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 1,190 Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers completed surveys across two studies examining whether types of workers differ based on demographic characteristics, utilization of MTurk, why they participate in the gig economy on MTurk (i.e. push and pull factors) and how this impacts life satisfaction.
Findings
Workers relying on MTurk as a primary income had lower incomes and spent more time completing large numbers of work units. This group of workers also reported fewer pull factors (e.g. enjoyment) as a reason for working in the gig economy and had lower levels of self-reported current and predicted future life satisfaction. Individuals who view MTurk as a job were more likely to treat MTurk like a job – engaging in online communities and having a regular work schedule. These workers were more likely to report pull factors (e.g. enjoyment and challenge) and did not differ on life satisfaction.
Originality/value
The current research contributes to our understanding of MTurk, one of the largest online platforms for gig work, as part of the diverse gig economy and highlights potential areas for future research.