Eileen Patterson, Sara Branch, Michelle Barker and Sheryl Ramsay
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of power in cases of upwards bullying by examining the bases of power that staff members use, and how these bases create power…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of power in cases of upwards bullying by examining the bases of power that staff members use, and how these bases create power imbalances.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six managers from several organisations. After completion of each interview, verbatim transcripts were created and examined using NVivo, allowing in-depth thematic analysis. The broad coding schema, developed through a review of the literature, was refined as analysis progressed.
Findings
Three major themes emerged: a loss of legitimate power, coercive power, and structural power. The findings suggest a “power cycle” exists in upwards bullying episodes, which is presented diagrammatically. Discussion focusses on the processes that commence with a decrease or loss of a manager’s legitimate power, associated with a lack of organisational support, and staff members’ perceptions of illegitimacy. Managers indicated vulnerability to inappropriate behaviours by staff members, and the potential for greater power imbalances to build due to these behaviours triggering a feedback mechanism, with managers experiencing a further loss of legitimate power.
Originality/value
The study recommends that research into the perspectives of staff members (such as alleged perpetrators) can further strengthen our understanding of the use of power in workplace bullying, and in upwards bullying in particular. Given the applicability of the outcomes of this research to our understanding of workplace bullying, such theory development can also foster practical approaches to addressing workplace bullying within organisations. Understanding the nature of power within workplace bullying processes can inform organisational strategies to disrupt the cycle of inappropriate behaviours, upwards and otherwise.
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Jane P. Murray, Sara Branch and Carlo Caponecchia
The purpose of this paper is to examine the critical success factors (CSFs) required for the successful implementation of 11 workplace bullying interventions listed in a taxonomy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the critical success factors (CSFs) required for the successful implementation of 11 workplace bullying interventions listed in a taxonomy of workplace bullying interventions.
Design/methodology/approach
A Delphi approach was used to gather commentary from 51 subject matter experts (SMXs) on factors that contribute to successful implementation of workplace bullying interventions.
Findings
A deductive approach to thematic analysis revealed that organisational infrastructure, commitment and engagement of management and competent and resourced professionals were the most consistently raised CSFs across interventions. These are broadly consistent with suggested implementation drivers previously recommended by researchers in the workplace bullying and implementation science fields.
Research limitations/implications
Two interventions did not receive adequate commentary meaning that key implementation drivers could not be sufficiently identified for them. While harnessing SMX commentary, the paper also develops a model of levels of evidence to guide future research.
Practical implications
This paper can assist organisations in planning and resourcing the implementation of workplace bullying interventions, to help ensure that interventions are as effective as possible.
Originality/value
This paper has value for researchers, practitioners and organisations as it explores factors critical to successful implementation of interventions and also develops a model for the development of enhanced levels of evidence in workplace bullying intervention research.
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Ayesha Siddiqi and Virginia Bodolica
The learning outcomes of this study are as follows: use advanced frameworks and tools to convey complex ideas related to corporate social responsibility and ethics; apply relevant…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this study are as follows: use advanced frameworks and tools to convey complex ideas related to corporate social responsibility and ethics; apply relevant concepts and theories of ethics and corporate governance to a practical situation while making decisions; demonstrate understanding of the importance of stakeholders when developing socially responsible thinking; and analyze ethical and legal conflicts that need to be considered by employees in situations of whistleblowing.
Case overview/synopsis
Sara Khan was a Pakistani-American who had moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2015 to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in accounting. After graduation, she started working for a baked products manufacturer, Dough Fresh, which was a business unit of Dubai-based Fresh Foods Co. Three years later, she enjoyed her work in the company that embraced strong ethical values and socially responsible practices. She was recently given the task of delivering a financial statements’, investment projections’ and cost-cutting presentation to the senior management of Dough Fresh. Her performance at completing this task was of critical importance for her obtaining the eagerly awaited promotion to the senior accountant position. One day, while Sara was looking through some files to update the financial statements’ records, she came across a deleted purchase order of poppy seeds that amounted to AED 680,000. While poppy seeds were widely used as ingredients in baked products in other countries, they were illegal in the UAE. After approaching her colleague from the purchasing department, she realized that the purchasing manager, who was the grandson of the chairman, was closely involved in the matter. Moreover, it appeared that poppy seeds were used unwashed, which triggered deleterious health consequences and made them highly dangerous to consume. As Sara spent more time researching about poppy seeds and whistleblowing laws in the UAE, she questioned whether she should divulge this information or keep it for herself. Making this decision was extremely challenging. Because the UAE laws regarding whistleblowing were not comprehensive and constantly evolving, she was not certain whether her identity and reputation would be protected in case she decided to blow the whistle. Even more, she worried immensely about the prospect of her colleagues losing their jobs if this information became public, as many of them needed the money to support their families back home and to finance expensive health-related treatments of their relatives. At the same time, she was also aware that if poppy seeds were consumed by people unknowingly, this could lead to serious and even fatal health consequences. All things considered, Sara was caught between deciding what was the right thing to do.
Complexity academic level
This case study can be used in a higher level undergraduate business course on Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS 11: Strategy.
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Kambiz Heidarzadeh Hanzaee and Sara Aghasibeig
The purpose of the paper is to examine Iranian generation Y female decision making using Sproles and Kendall's consumer styles inventory as a basis for market segmentation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to examine Iranian generation Y female decision making using Sproles and Kendall's consumer styles inventory as a basis for market segmentation.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering the high population of young Iranians, this research has focused on generation Y (those born after 1977) by administering a questionnaire to a non‐probability sample of female undergraduate students of Azad University, the Islamic Azad University Tehran branch.
Findings
The result showed six meaningful and distinct groups; the characteristics of each group were identified separately. These findings are useful for both domestic and international retailers and marketers seeking to effectively target young Iranian female consumers.
Originality/value
This is the first academic study focusing on generation Y female shopping behaviors that its findings are useful for both domestic and international retailers and marketers seeking to effectively target young Iranian female consumers.
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Jian Liu, Peng Liu, Sifeng Liu, Yizhong Ma and Wensheng Yang
Process mining provides a new means to improve processes in a variety of application domains. The purpose of this paper is to abstract a process model and then use the discovered…
Abstract
Purpose
Process mining provides a new means to improve processes in a variety of application domains. The purpose of this paper is to abstract a process model and then use the discovered models from process mining to make useful optimization via predictions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper divides the process model into a combination of “pair-adjacent activities” and “pair-adjacent persons” in the event logs. First, two new handover process models based on adjacency matrix are proposed. Second, by adding the stage, frequency, and time for every activity or person into the matrix, another two new handover prediction process models based on stage adjacency matrix are further proposed. Third, compute the conditional probability from every stage to next stage through the frequency. Finally, use real data to analyze and demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed handover optimization process.
Findings
The process model can be extended with information to predict what will actually happen, how possible to reach the next activity, who will do this activity, and the corresponding probability if there are several people executing the same activity, etc.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is to predict what will actually happen, how possible it is to reach the following activities or persons in the next stage, how soon to reach the following activities or persons by calculating all the possible interval time via different traces, who will do this activity, and the corresponding probability if there are several people executing the same activity, etc.
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Maria Elena Santagati, Sara Bonini Baraldi and Luca Zan
Decentralization is a widespread and international phenomenon in public administration. Despite the interest of public management scholars, an in-depth analysis of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Decentralization is a widespread and international phenomenon in public administration. Despite the interest of public management scholars, an in-depth analysis of the interrelationship between two of its forms – deconcentration and devolution – and its impact on policy and management capacities at the local level is seldom investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
This article addresses this gap by examining the implementation of deconcentration and devolution processes in France and Italy in the cultural field, combining the analysis of national reform processes with in-depth analyses of two regional cases. The research is the result of document analysis, participatory observation and semi-structured interviews.
Findings
The article reconstructs the impacts of devolution and deconcentration processes on the emergence of policy and management capacity in two regions (Rhone-Alpes and Piedmont) in the cultural sector. The article shows that decentralization in the cultural sector in France and Italy is the result of different combinations of devolution and deconcentration processes, that the two processes mutually affect their effectiveness, and that this effectiveness is deeply linked to the previous policy and management capacity of the central state in a specific field/country.
Originality/value
The article investigates decentralization as a result of the combination of deconcentration and devolution in comparative terms and in a specific sector of implementation, highlighting the usefulness of this approach also for other sectors/countries
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Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Jameson Boex and Javier Arze del Granado
Roza Rafiei, Leila Roozbeh Nasiraie, Zahra Emam Jumeh and Sara Jafarian
The use of polysaccharides increases solubility and consistency and causes functions such as viscosity? Moisture and food emulsifier stabilizer. This study aims to enrich the…
Abstract
Purpose
The use of polysaccharides increases solubility and consistency and causes functions such as viscosity? Moisture and food emulsifier stabilizer. This study aims to enrich the formulation of low-fat mozzarella cheese using microcoated vitamin D3 (VD3).
Design/methodology/approach
This study investigates the addition of hydrocolloids to low-fat mozzarella cheese to enhance its properties and nutritional value. Tests were conducted on cheese samples with 0.05% and 0.25% hydrocolloid concentrations at various stages: before production and at three and six months’ postproduction. The samples were evaluated for elasticity, pH and solubility to select the best one, which was then fortified with VD3. The vitamin was microencapsulated using alginate and whey protein to shield it from light and oxygen, optimizing the formula using the response surface method. The fortified cheese was tested for VD3 content over its shelf life.
Findings
Results indicated that all hydrocolloids tested improved moisture and meltability of the cheese while higher protein levels increased stretchability two to threefold. Rice starch hydrocolloid at 0.05% concentration was chosen due to superior sensory scores and minimal oil separation. This study concluded that VD3 levels remained stable during the cheese’s shelf life, suggesting that this approach could enhance the nutritional value of low-fat cheese without compromising its quality. Therefore, after examining the obtained results and comparing the regression models, the results indicated that the Quadratic model was chosen to investigate the effect of independent variables on the response rate, which had a statistically significant difference with other models (p = 0.0019). Also the results of the area under the curve and using the encapsulation efficiency equation, the percentage of microencapsulated vitamin was obtained, and according to the simulation results, the encapsulation efficiency was reported as 89.02%.
Originality/value
Developing innovative functional dairy products fortified with VD3 could improve the vitamin D status in deficient populations. Therefore, these designs can be applied at industrial scales for functional cheese production.