Strategic decision making is a rather unstructured process with a wide variety of conflicting and equivocal considerations and inputs. Managers, usually working in top management…
Abstract
Strategic decision making is a rather unstructured process with a wide variety of conflicting and equivocal considerations and inputs. Managers, usually working in top management teams, are asked to form an “interpretation” or working knowledge of the internal and external influences on the organization. This article suggests the real value of tacit knowledge and intuition to managers in the upper reaches of the organization. Tacit knowledge, based on the cumulative experiences of the manager, is equivalent to the intuitive feel and “softer” ways of knowing that all humans experience. It has been found to be quite valuable to upper‐level managers, but especially when intermingled with sound data analysis and more formal insight. When groups of managers can exchange and share the different types of knowledge, a complementary and synergistic learning process occurs. Managers are able to draw from a broader, more diverse set of possibilities and insights.
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There is a strong tradition in cross‐cultural research to posit a relationship between culturally‐derived values and work‐related attitudes, with the most notable work conducted…
Abstract
There is a strong tradition in cross‐cultural research to posit a relationship between culturally‐derived values and work‐related attitudes, with the most notable work conducted by Hofstede (1980). The deeply‐held culturally‐derived values have a powerful influence on the specific cognitions and behaviors that workers develop. On the other hand, this research suggests that situational variables, including the workers' daily activities and work experiences, also influence work‐related attitudes. Situational demands and salient information from one's current experiences affect the nature of attitudes, and on self‐report questionnaires may explain more variation than reported deep‐seated values. Research was conducted on samples of 64 Americans and 47 Chinese workers to contrast the influences on attitudes. Situational variables were shown to strongly influence attitudinal measures, especially in the American sample. Implications for worker education and training and cross‐cultural management are offered.
Robert H. Bennett, Walter J. Wheatley, E. Nick Maddox and William P. Anthony
Theory and practice indicate that managers experience considerabledifficulty and exhibit limited rationality as they attempt to grasp,process, and understand the often ambiguous…
Abstract
Theory and practice indicate that managers experience considerable difficulty and exhibit limited rationality as they attempt to grasp, process, and understand the often ambiguous requirements of managerial tasks. Argues the efficacy of mental imagery and visualization as a means to overcome such human limitation. Notes the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of mental imagery and applies them to the “episodic performance situations” inherent in the reality of management practice. Imagery techniques allow managers to create and manipulate actively a much more information‐rich and thorough projection of the once ambiguous, abstract management scenario. Discusses some example uses of mental imagery in the steps of the strategic planning model, in decision‐making applications, and in organizational communication. Provides some guidelines for developing effective mental imagery scripts and outlines important considerations for their use in organizations.
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Asya Draganova and Shane Blackman
The term Canterbury Sound emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s to refer to a signature style within psychedelic and progressive rock developed by bands such as Caravan and…
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The term Canterbury Sound emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s to refer to a signature style within psychedelic and progressive rock developed by bands such as Caravan and Soft Machine as well as key artists including Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers. This chapter explores Canterbury as a metaphor and reality, a symbolic space of music inspiration which has produced its distinctive ‘sound’.
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, particularly observations and interviews with music artists and cultural intermediates (Bourdieu, 1993), we suggest that the notion of the Canterbury Sound – with its affinity for experimentation, distinctive chord progressions and jazz allusions in a rock music format – is perceived as a continuing artistic and aesthetic influence. We interpret the genealogy of the Canterbury Sound alternativity through discussions focused on the position of the ‘Sound’ within contemporary heritage discourses, the metaphorical and geographical implications of place in relation to popular music, and cultural longevity of the phenomenon.
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Claretha Hughes, Lionel Robert, Kristin Frady and Adam Arroyos
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Many jurisdictions fine illegal cartels using penalty guidelines that presume an arbitrary 10% overcharge. This article surveys more than 700 published economic studies and…
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Many jurisdictions fine illegal cartels using penalty guidelines that presume an arbitrary 10% overcharge. This article surveys more than 700 published economic studies and judicial decisions that contain 2,041 quantitative estimates of overcharges of hard-core cartels. The primary findings are: (1) the median average long-run overcharge for all types of cartels over all time periods is 23.0%; (2) the mean average is at least 49%; (3) overcharges reached their zenith in 1891–1945 and have trended downward ever since; (4) 6% of the cartel episodes are zero; (5) median overcharges of international-membership cartels are 38% higher than those of domestic cartels; (6) convicted cartels are on average 19% more effective at raising prices as unpunished cartels; (7) bid-rigging conduct displays 25% lower markups than price-fixing cartels; (8) contemporary cartels targeted by class actions have higher overcharges; and (9) when cartels operate at peak effectiveness, price changes are 60–80% higher than the whole episode. Historical penalty guidelines aimed at optimally deterring cartels are likely to be too low.
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Stefanie E. Naumann, Nathan Bennett, Robert J. Bies and Christopher L. Martin
Research on layoff victims reports that interactional justice judgments influence important work‐related attitudes, such as organizational commitment. In this paper, we build on…
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Research on layoff victims reports that interactional justice judgments influence important work‐related attitudes, such as organizational commitment. In this paper, we build on this emerging literature through an examination of the role that both interactional justice and organizational support have in explaining the organizational commitment of 147 layoff victims at a major manufacturing plant. The results of structural equation analyses supported our hypothesis that organizational support mediates the relationship between interactional justice and organizational commitment.