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Article
Publication date: 13 August 2024

Pia Carnegie

This “viewpoint” paper aims to explore the root causes of probation fear, including worries about job security, performance expectations, cultural fit and feedback. It seeks to…

Abstract

Purpose

This “viewpoint” paper aims to explore the root causes of probation fear, including worries about job security, performance expectations, cultural fit and feedback. It seeks to examine the impact of these fears on employees’ mental health, job performance, work relationships and career progression, as well as the broader implications for employers, such as increased turnover and training costs. Leadership’s role in creating a supportive environment and encouraging feedback is emphasised.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a combination of author observations and literature to explore the intricacies of probation fears faced by employees during the probation process.

Findings

Author observations and literature show that the impact of probation fear is not strictly limited to the employee who is going through the probation process. It is suggested that by addressing probation fear, a more inclusive, supportive and productive workplace can be created. In a collective effort, Employers can implement transparent communication, structured onboarding, supportive feedback, mentorship programs and foster psychological safety and employees can seek clarity, build relationships, prioritise self-care, focus on learning and engage in professional development.

Research limitations/implications

As this paper includes observations from the author the paper could suffer from the writer’s biases even though this is unintended.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, as this paper includes observations by the author, this study is original. This paper also provides value to both HR and front-line managers involved in the employee probation journey where the exploration of probation fear is under-researched.

Details

Strategic HR Review, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1475-4398

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 February 2010

Howard R. Stanger

The growth of organized labor during the latter part of the nineteenth century triggered an organizational impulse on the part of employers across the country. Although some…

Abstract

The growth of organized labor during the latter part of the nineteenth century triggered an organizational impulse on the part of employers across the country. Although some employers’ associations began as “negotiatory” bodies engaged in collective bargaining, the vast majority of them shifted toward a more “belligerent” approach. Academic scholarship has generally focused on the belligerents at the national level. Recently, some scholars have begun to study organized employers at the community level, but they continue to feature the more typical staunchly anti-union associations. This study of Columbus, Ohio's master printers’ association reveals a different pattern of local labor relations during the years between 1887 and 1960 – an association that had generally smooth bargaining relationships with craft unions. Columbus’ conservative and sheltered economy enabled the longstanding cooperative shared printing craft culture to thrive. But changes in Columbus’ economy, shifts in larger patterns of industrial relations, the hard-line influence of the national employers’ association, and technological changes altered the context of local labor relations. The result was that, by 1960, the Columbus association sought the upper hand in labor relations by becoming a more traditional and belligerent employers’ association. This story of “latecomers” adds to our understanding of organized employer behavior under different historical periods and circumstances.

Details

Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-932-9

Article
Publication date: 3 October 2016

Heidi Olander, Mika Vanhala, Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen and Kirsimarja Blomqvist

The purpose of this paper is to study how the motivation in firms to safeguard the prerequisites of innovation relates to the strength of the employee-related protection…

2196

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study how the motivation in firms to safeguard the prerequisites of innovation relates to the strength of the employee-related protection mechanisms that deal with knowledge leaking and knowledge leaving, and the moderating effect of organizational trust in the relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses were tested on a sample collected in Finland from 80 companies engaged in R&D. A partial least squares was used for the analyses.

Findings

Knowledge leaking and leaving from a firm can be approached with both formalized and soft types of employee-related mechanisms; that the motivation to secure innovativeness positively relates to both forms; and that the presence of organizational trust is especially effective in reinforcing employee-related practices that can prevent knowledge leaving.

Research limitations/implications

The data were gathered in a single western European country and that may have affected the results.

Practical implications

The managers would do well to introduce both formalized and soft forms of protection so as to mitigate the effects of knowledge both leaving and leaking. Building on the findings of this study, managers could prioritize between the different categories and mechanisms depending on the market and industry they operate in.

Originality/value

This study adds to the literature by studying quantitatively the employee-related protection mechanisms and the effect of organizational trust in the usage of those mechanisms.

Details

Baltic Journal of Management, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5265

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 27 June 2023

Amanda Bennett and Pia Wood

The University of North Texas (UNT) has a long-standing partnership with the University of Magallanes (UMAG), Chile. This partnership is unique due to the wide expanse of its…

Abstract

The University of North Texas (UNT) has a long-standing partnership with the University of Magallanes (UMAG), Chile. This partnership is unique due to the wide expanse of its activities and connections to the local, regional, national, and international contexts. Moreover, this mutually beneficial partnership and its accompanying and tangential activities and initiatives span student mobility, transnational research, academic partnerships, community engagement, and several UN Sustainable Development Goals. This case study will discuss the various aspects of the partnership, how it developed and flourished over the past 20 years, and the impact of COVID on initiatives to expand global collaboration. It is a fascinating study of how the research interests of two faculty members led the way for UNT to develop an interdisciplinary partnership with regional, national, and international recognition. In particular, the authors will analyze the key ingredients for success of the partnership along with lessons learned. The chapter also will examine how the pandemic created a new dynamic, discuss steps taken to mitigate its impact, and offer some predictions for future directions.

Details

Internationalization and Imprints of the Pandemic on Higher Education Worldwide
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-560-6

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 October 2021

Stefania Servalli and Antonio Gitto

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the research related to “the interplay between accounting and the state, politics, and local authorities in the broad government and…

2257

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the research related to “the interplay between accounting and the state, politics, and local authorities in the broad government and administration of food for sustainability of populations” (Sargiacomo et al., 2016). Considering contemporary examples and investigating the genealogy of an 18th-century reform of fishery management (the New Plan), the authors explore the role played by accounting and calculative practices when local authorities intervene using forms of discipline based on control systems that acted on commons (fish), people and space.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is historically grounded on archival research on a fish provisioning case during the 18th century in Ancona, an Italian town on the Adriatic coast. The investigation adopts an approach focussed on the use of disciplinary methods in the terms highlighted by Foucault. This perspective offers a lens capable of revealing the key role of accounting in a period when discipline became “general formulas of domination” (Foucault, 1977) and the Papal States were looking for food provisioning solutions (Foucault, 2007). The study highlights similarities with contemporary fishery management.

Findings

The paper shows that governability of fishery in a commons' logic is not limited by the properties of the good, but rather “it is achieved through the objects and instruments that are deployed to make it possible” (Johnsen, 2014, p. 429). It reveals forms assumed by economic calculation in different eras and their contribution in the art of governing realised by the state (Hoskin and Macve, 2016). The study unveils how accounting effectively operates using “naming and counting” activities (Ezzamel and Hoskin, 2002) based on a system of documents and accounting registers; these have a pivotal role in redefining fishery management and in keeping goods (fish) and people (fishermen) under control. The investigation also highlights the importance of properly quantifying data in fishery management, confirming the literature on the topic (Beddington et al., 2007, p. 1713). In contemporary situations, data refer to quantifying the fish stock in the sea and the consequent estimation of fish catch. In the historical investigation, although environmental protection was not an issue, quantification refers to the fish that entered the town of Ancona, whose estimation was the result of a new calculative approach adopted by local authorities facing fish needs. In addition, it offers early evidence of organised and rational-based control mechanisms that were the result of Enlightened ideas emerging in the Papal States context.

Originality/value

Despite the fact that fish represent a fundamental good for governments to act on in response to a population's needs, there has been no attention paid to how governmental authorities have used disciplinary mechanisms to intervene in fishery management or the role played by accounting. This study's novelty is its investigation of fishery, using Foucauldian disciplinary methods to understand accounting's contribution in fishery governance. In addition, this investigation permits to unveil the role of accounting to support one of the main principles of the governance of commons that is represented by the congruence between rules and local conditions (Fennell, 2011, p. 11; Ostrom, 1990, p. 92).

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 34 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1989

Bonnie G. Gratch

More than five years have passed since A Nation at Risk was published in 1983 by then‐Secretary of Education Terrance Bell's National Commission on Excellence in Education. Those…

Abstract

More than five years have passed since A Nation at Risk was published in 1983 by then‐Secretary of Education Terrance Bell's National Commission on Excellence in Education. Those years have seen the publication of an enormous body of both primary material, composed of research reports, essays, and federal and state reform proposals and reports; and secondary material, composed of summaries and reviews of the original reform reports and reports about effective programs that are based on reform recommendations. This annotated bibliography seeks to identify, briefly describe, and organize in a useful manner those publications dealing with K‐12 education reform and improvement. The overall purposes of this article are to bring organization to that list, and also to trace relationships and influences from the federal initiatives to the states and professional associations, and from there to the school districts and individual schools.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 June 2024

Trinh Nguyen-Vo

This research aims to offers a new method for assessing geoeconomic risks in bilateral relations and evaluate the level of such risks from Vietnam’s economic dependency on China.

2040

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to offers a new method for assessing geoeconomic risks in bilateral relations and evaluate the level of such risks from Vietnam’s economic dependency on China.

Design/methodology/approach

I apply descriptive analysis to identify asymmetrical dependency in Vietnam–China economic relations and propose a geoeconomic risk assessment framework to evaluate risk levels in bilateral economic linkages.

Findings

The proposed geoeconomic risk framework assesses risk levels, which are positively influenced by the degree of asymmetrical relations (vulnerabilities), the net impacts on the receiving economy (impacts) and the sending state’s ability to control economic tools (threats). In contrast, risk levels are negatively affected by the effectiveness of existing mitigation efforts. The framework employs ordinal likelihood scales to rank various risk levels. In the context of Vietnam–China relations, market access for agricultural products and control of the Mekong water emerge as the most risky areas for economic coercion, followed by Chinese official development finance in infrastructure and critical input imports. On the other hand, debt dependency and foreign direct investment in the energy sector are considered more secure areas—less likely targets for economic coercion. Hence, risk mitigation strategies should prioritize reducing asymmetry in vulnerable dependence areas while maintaining current practices in more secure areas.

Originality/value

Methodologically, it introduces a new approach for assessing bilateral geoeconomic risk. Empirically, it provides Vietnam’s policymakers with a comprehensive evaluation of the implications of economic interdependence with China.

Details

Fulbright Review of Economics and Policy, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2635-0173

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2011

Pia Hurmelinna‐Laukkanen

Collaboration for research and development (R&D) and innovation among various organizations can be beneficial and in some cases even imperative, but in order to realise the…

4541

Abstract

Purpose

Collaboration for research and development (R&D) and innovation among various organizations can be beneficial and in some cases even imperative, but in order to realise the potential, effective management is required. Effective innovation requires firms to share their core knowledge, and simultaneously make sure that they will not lose their core knowledge and future competitive advantage. In line with this, this study aims to clarify the role of knowledge protection in relation to collaborative innovation endeavours.

Design/methodology/approach

This study approaches the knowledge protection and knowledge sharing issues through a literature review and subsequent empirical analysis of 242 Finnish companies.

Findings

The results indicate that when a firm has put effort in getting strong protection at its disposal, sharing knowledge with varying partners is more likely, which, in turn, improves innovation performance of the firm. It is not just about the strength of protection, but also – and even more importantly – using it efficiently that counts.

Research limitations/implications

The data are collected from one country only, with its specific features, and thus further research might reveal more on the studied phenomenon. Also utilising more detailed measures might reveal more.

Practical implications

This study augments both theoretical and managerial perspectives as it discusses a variety of protection mechanisms. In particular, it offers managers a new way of approaching the means of knowledge protection for innovation‐related collaboration.

Originality/value

This study shows that a wide range of knowledge protection mechanisms can be relied on, and that strategic use of these mechanisms improves knowledge sharing and innovation performance.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Pia Hurmelinna‐Laukkanen

Recent research and practice have put a great deal of effort into finding efficient ways of managing and organizing to promote innovation within organizations. This study aims to…

1576

Abstract

Purpose

Recent research and practice have put a great deal of effort into finding efficient ways of managing and organizing to promote innovation within organizations. This study aims to continue this trend in addressing issues related to knowledge transfer and protection through examining roles of absorptive capacity and appropriability regimes and the interplay between them. An appropriability regime can play a dual role when external knowledge and the knowledge‐base of the firm form the basis for absorptive capacity, which then contributes to innovation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study provides an empirical examination of the direct and moderating roles of appropriability regime regarding the above‐mentioned dual role. Data collected from 335 firms was utilized to perform regression analyses.

Findings

The empirical evidence suggests, first, that the strength of the appropriability regime has a positive effect on absorptive capacity (especially the acquisition of knowledge) together with good connectedness to external knowledge sources and high levels of internal R&D. In addition, support can be found for the idea of absorptive capacity and the appropriability regime being positively related to innovation performance. Both direct and moderating effects can be found, but they are slightly different for knowledge acquisition and application.

Originality/value

This study contributes to prior studies by producing empirical evidence on the relationships described above. An important issue is also that it departs from prior works by viewing an appropriability regime as a factor that can be affected by the firm (i.e. as a strategic tool), and not as a purely environmental or external factor.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 50 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Games in Everyday Life: For Play
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-937-8

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