Bourdieu (1986) identified and explained the various forms of capital that exist in a society. He defines capital as “assets that are available for use in the production of…
Abstract
Bourdieu (1986) identified and explained the various forms of capital that exist in a society. He defines capital as “assets that are available for use in the production of further assets” (p. 241). The following explanation of capital provides background for making connections between Bourdieu's forms of capital and the plotlines the boys in this study employ for displaying literate identity.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the human costs of innovation – the personal difficulties, aside from economic ones, experienced by persons whose jobs are permanently…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the human costs of innovation – the personal difficulties, aside from economic ones, experienced by persons whose jobs are permanently eliminated by innovations.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual analysis of the negative personal effects (i.e. intra-individual) resulting from job loss due to innovation was used. These include reduced self-esteem, hope for the future, increased stress and increased and disturbing cognitive inconsistencies.
Findings
Proposals are developed concerning the harmful effects experienced by whose jobs are made unnecessary by innovation.
Research limitations/implications
The paper, being conceptual, does not involve empirical research; rather it offers suggestions for future research.
Practical implications
Attention is called to the potential “downside” of innovation in terms of the persons whose jobs it renders superfluous. Reasons why entrepreneurship may be especially attractive to these persons are reviewed.
Social implications
Innovation generates many economic benefits but also makes many jobs unnecessary. As a resut, a growing number of persons lose jobs they can never hope to regain. These personal costs adversely affect both their psychological and physical well-being. Further, job loss due to innovation can add to income inequality and so be a source of conflict in society. Efforts to reduce these problems are essential for the continued well-being of both individuals and the societies in which they live.
Originality/value
Past research concerning innovation has focused primarily on its economic effects. This paper extends this research by examining innovations' potentially harmful effects on persons it makes unemployed.
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Robert Alan Lewis and Ewa Maria Mottier
Human resources management, international human resources management.
Abstract
Subject area
Human resources management, international human resources management.
Study level/applicability
The case is suitable for undergraduate or graduate/training programmes specialised in international dimensions of HRM.
Case overview
The study aims to evaluate the experiences of hotel employees at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok's new employee centre. This centre, called the “O-Zone”, is an example of the hotel's commitment to the well-being of its staff. On a larger scale, it is an illustration of a method to maintain employee motivation and commitment in the luxury hotel industry. The case is particularly useful to investigate as the hotel has created a unique approach to employee well-being in a large urban setting where employees experience a stressful living environment, including long commutes. This is supported by studies in the literature which reveal that burnout and stress are important factors to consider for hotel employees.
Expected learning outcomes
The case study allows students to discover the following key learning points: an example of a well-being initiative for employees of a luxury hotel in the Thai context; an investigation of the need for employers in luxury hotels in Thailand to attract and retain talent; and an understanding of the use of incentives at work for employee motivation in the Thai luxury hotel industry.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.
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The purpose of this paper is to explain why (based on an extensive body of research findings) efforts to reduce income inequality may have negative effects on motivation and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain why (based on an extensive body of research findings) efforts to reduce income inequality may have negative effects on motivation and the desire to excel.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents the author’s personal perspective on income inequality and efforts to reduce it. However, these views are grounded in extensive literature concerning the nature of “fairness,” and the harmful effects of weakening the link between performance or effort on the one hand, and rewards on the other. Breaking this connection may be especially harmful for entrepreneurs, who have strong beliefs that the hard they work in building their new ventures, the more likely are these companies to be successful.
Findings
The paper presents what, it is hoped, provides a broadened framework within which to examine the causes and income inequality, definitions of “fairness,” and the potential effects of efforts to reduce such inequality.
Practical implications
By weakening the relationship between performance and rewards, efforts to reduce income inequality involving large tax increases may weaken the relationship between performance (accomplishment) and rewards, thus reducing motivation to work hard and achieve excellence.
Social implications
Understanding the negative implications of government-funded programs designed to reduce income inequality helps to clarify the potentially detrimental effects of such programs – effects that are neither intended not expected by proponents of such efforts.
Originality/value
The effects of efforts to reduce income inequality have not previously been examined in the context of their negative implications for human motivation to work hard and attain excellence in any endeavor – implications suggested by a large body of relevant research.
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The opportunity to learn (OTL) as a concept in education has been evolving since at least the 1960s. The OTL research suggests that when students are allotted more opportunities…
Abstract
The opportunity to learn (OTL) as a concept in education has been evolving since at least the 1960s. The OTL research suggests that when students are allotted more opportunities to learn, they learn more (e.g., Harrison, 1968). The admonition from OTL researchers is often a call for an expanding definition of opportunity as well as a plea to educators to provide more opportunity of all types. Following the line of logic of the OTL research, the students in this study composed their literate identities because they were given greater opportunity to story themselves as literate as well as to distribute literacy. If that is the case, then even hurtful experiences, like when Robert was asked to redo his assignment because Superfoot was judged as inadequate, became an opportunity to relive and retell the story of his literate identity in either a positive way. The OTL research raises a question about what opportunities for storying are in the hands of the teacher in a classroom, which are in the hands of the student, which are in the hands of family members, and which are in the hands of those increasingly peripheral to the classroom milieu. Uncovering understandings about how teachers open opportunities on the landscape of the classroom for developing narratives of comedic literate identity may lead to more sophisticated strategies for dispensing occasions for students to compose comedic literate identities.
Using primary sources, such as memoirs, letters and diaries, rather than relying solely on secondary sources (i.e. the textbook) is a more effective way for students to appreciate…
Abstract
Purpose
Using primary sources, such as memoirs, letters and diaries, rather than relying solely on secondary sources (i.e. the textbook) is a more effective way for students to appreciate the lived experiences of those who were present when the history was made. This article details how memoir was used in a college classroom in Connecticut as a supplement to required texts. It provides a lesson plan, a sequence of activities and a list of recommended primary sources that were used to explore selected topics. It proposes reasons for why this method of instruction has been so successful.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses VARK approach: visual, auditory, reading, kinesthetic; sequential activities using text, video and primary sources; PowerPoint from group work; presentation via ZOOM; and required text used as lens through which to see student choice topics.
Findings
Accessing VARK learning behaviors and including the original voices of those who lived through history improves student engagement, increases understanding and empathy and promotes sense of agency to student progress.
Research limitations/implications
Students focus on a particular aspect of history. Shared text covers all of it, through a thematic lens. Final exam and papers insure that students are responsible for all of the course material.
Practical implications
Young students might “role play” individuals in history, or particular situations, but this is not accepted, practical or as useful in higher grades. Using primary sources bridges that gap.
Social implications
Teamwork, shared technical skills, product produced and shared, and sense of group experience lead to more unified classroom. Teacher role is more of director and editor rather than information giver.
Originality/value
The study is not a new idea, but one that is usually used only as a one-off and should be made part of standard curriculum.
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Marian Crowley-Henry, Edward P. O'Connor and Blanca Suarez-Bilbao
This micro-level study unpacks the recruitment and retention of international professionals to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The study highlights the influence of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This micro-level study unpacks the recruitment and retention of international professionals to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The study highlights the influence of the founders' international experience when applying organisational-level (meso) policies and practices. With their insider experience as skilled migrants, we share how the founders in each of the SMEs mobilised career capital into human resource management (HRM) strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Combining literature on SMEs and skilled migrants' careers, we draw upon intelligent career theory to illuminate the recruitment and retention of self-initiated expatriates and skilled migrants in SMEs. With three SME case studies as samples–one micro, one small and one medium-sized organisation in Ireland–we consider the influence of the founders' international experience in the design and application of formal and informal HRM strategies (at the organisational level) that are operationalised to recruit and retain international talent to/in these organisations.
Findings
The HRM practices in the three SME cases in this paper, each run by migrant founders, vary from formalised (for our medium-sized organisation), semi-formalised (for our small-sized organisation) to ad hoc and tailor-made (for our micro-sized organisation). These particular SMEs were often more receptive to hiring other migrants. The important role of the three SME case studies' skilled migrant founders and their own international career experiences was apparent in the particular HRM approaches they adopted. The relevance of intelligent career theory when applying micro-level findings at the meso-organisational level is shown.
Originality/value
The paper presents how the international experience of founder–managers, in turn, impacts on the HRM practices and policies that are implemented to recruit and retain international employees. The study highlights how both organisation size and founder-manager international experience influence the degree of customisation of HRM practices and policies in SMEs, specifically pertaining to the recruitment and retention of self-initiated expatriates and skilled migrant employees. The heterogeneity within the sub-categories encompassed under the umbrella label of SME is emphasised; validating our case study approach, where nuance and detail of the specific organisation can be shared.