T. Meredith Ross, Erick C. Jones and Stephanie G. Adams
The purpose of this paper is to propose and support a model to predict the effectiveness of teams.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose and support a model to predict the effectiveness of teams.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature provides a wide variety of variables or constructs to measure the effectiveness of a team. The article proposes a mathematical model to predict the effectiveness of a team. A priori comparisons are used to develop a mathematical model of the optimum team.
Findings
The study expands on the theory of team effectiveness and demonstrates that a theoretically developed empirical model can predict team effectiveness quantitatively. A mathematical model was developed as an empirical function of performance, behavior, attitude, team member style and corporate culture.
Research limitations/implications
There has been little effort to standardize the measurable variables of team effectiveness. Additionally, the means to evaluate the individual's influence on team effectiveness has not been documented in relation to the effectiveness of the team. This paper uses a specific set of constructs, which might be the optimum set of variables to measure performance, behavior, and attitude.
Practical implications
By considering the model suggested here, managers will be able to select individual team members to enhance team performance.
Originality/value
Few models have been proposed to predict the effectiveness of a team based on team member selection. This model provides anyone selecting team members with a model to use when choosing among technically qualified candidates.
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Bianey C. Ruiz Ulloa and Stephanie G. Adams
The business sector has created a need for higher educational institutions to prepare students to be effective team players. Responding to this need, higher educational…
Abstract
The business sector has created a need for higher educational institutions to prepare students to be effective team players. Responding to this need, higher educational institutions have been using different forms of active learning as methods to promote teamwork among students and enhance their learning. Results from such initiatives have shown that students recognize that the teaming experience improves their interpersonal skills, yet they still prefer work individually. Attitude originated from negative team experiences. The purpose of this study was to determine what relationship exists between individual attitudes toward teaming and the presence of characteristics deemed essential for an effective team. The study suggests that when mature communication, accountable interdependence, psychological safety, common purpose, role clarity and clear goal are present during the process of teaming, the experience will have a positive effect on individuals' attitude toward teamwork.
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Mahour Mellat Parast, Stephanie G. Adams and Erick C. Jones
The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the effects of quality management practices on operational and business performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the effects of quality management practices on operational and business performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A reliable and valid survey instrument was used for data gathering from managers in the petroleum industry. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the effect of quality management practices on operational and business performance.
Findings
The results indicate that top management support, employee training, and employee involvement are significant variables explaining the variability of operational performance. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis on business performance indicated the significance of top management support on business performance. The study also shows that customer orientation is not a significant predictor of business performance in the petroleum industry. In addition, focus on practices associated with human resource management (employee training and employee involvement) is critical in improving operational performance.
Research limitations/implications
Managers in the oil and gas industry need to emphasize practices associated with human resource management. Future studies should replicate this study with a larger sample size.
Originality/value
The study contributes to theory validation and development in quality management by investigating the effects of quality management practices on operational and business performance. The paper adds to the body of knowledge in quality management in the international context, specifically in the Middle East. In addition, it advances the literature on the practice of quality management in process industries, such as the petroleum industry.
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Julia B. Lindsey, Rachelle Kuehl and Heidi Anne Mesmer
Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to provide research-based information to foster positive discussions about the need for phonics and phonemic awareness instruction in the…
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to provide research-based information to foster positive discussions about the need for phonics and phonemic awareness instruction in the primary grades. In order to read, students must possess secure knowledge of the alphabetic principle (i.e., that speech sounds are represented by combinations of letters in the alphabet) as well as the ability to aurally separate the distinct sounds (phonemes) that make up words.
Design: In this chapter, the authors provide essential definitions of phonics and phonemic awareness terms, highlight peer-reviewed research and best instructional practices, and clarify findings in relation to the recently renewed controversy over how to effectively teach reading to young children. The authors draw from respected research journals and years of classroom experience to provide recommendations to literacy teachers.
Findings: Explicit, systematic phonics instruction is crucial for beginning readers because most children will not intuit phonics concepts. To set the stage for phonics instruction (connecting speech sounds with their written representations), students must understand how to separate sounds in words. Therefore, instruction in phonemic awareness must be given independently of alphabetic representations; that is, students need to be able to hear the distinct sounds before mapping them onto written words. Once a student has mastered this understanding, however, instructional time need not be devoted to its development.
Practical Implications: This chapter contributes to the literature on phonics and phonemic awareness by clearly explaining the differences between the two concepts and their necessary inclusion in any beginning reading program. It includes practical activities teachers can use to develop these understandings in the classroom and provides research evidence to support their use.
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Stéphanie Giamporcaro and George Kuk
This study aims to make a distinction between actualized and claimed affordances of blockchain by examining how a specified user group interprets and translates the actualized…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to make a distinction between actualized and claimed affordances of blockchain by examining how a specified user group interprets and translates the actualized affordances from a known use context into their existing practices. This allows us to develop and advance the concept of affordances-in-practice as an enactment of action possibilities through practices in a specified use context.
Design/methodology/approach
We focus on the field of sustainable investment (SI) and its relation to emerging blockchain technologies in the pursuit of sustainable development goals (SDGs). We used a field study involving 29 interviews with SI practitioners and blockchain entrepreneurs in South Africa, supplemented with an analysis of 91 practitioner and industry documents.
Findings
Our findings show that when there is a lack of actual use cases in the field of SI, the claimed affordances of blockchain are subject to a sensemaking process, which considers how action possibilities can be enacted and transformed through practices and how institutional constraints and socio-cognitive barriers can determine the available action possibilities.
Research limitations/implications
A notable limitation relates to the relative novelty and emerging status of blockchain. As affordances are based on available information and experience, this leaves room for claimed affordances. We discuss the implications of the interplay of the actualized and claimed affordances in blockchain applications in the field of SI.
Practical implications
We discuss the practical implications of addressing claimed affordances and field opacity in the SI field.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine blockchain affordances for good in the context of achieving SDGs through SI. Our affordances-in-practice framework holds theoretical promise to pinpoint and explain how practices can shape action possibilities despite having difficulties in evaluating the underlying technological potentialities.
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Jill Allor, Devin Kearns, Miriam Ortiz and Carlin Conner
The purpose of this chapter is to present key characteristics of early reading text by describing a new series of researcher-developed early reading books that were specifically…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to present key characteristics of early reading text by describing a new series of researcher-developed early reading books that were specifically designed to address multiple criteria, including word structure or decodability, familiarity, repetition, high-frequency, syntax, and text cohesion. We describe the theoretical and empirical rationale that guided the design of the books, how we developed them, and their key features. This is followed by a technical analysis that describes the (1) characteristics of the target words used to guide the writing of the books and (2) characteristics of the text, such as the percentage of words on common high-frequency word lists, word counts, type-token ratio, sentence counts, unique sight words, unique decodable words, and content (i.e., picture-supported) words. The analysis demonstrates that the target words and the text in the books are consistent with our intended goal of simultaneously addressing multiple variables.
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Stephanie Bilderback and Matthew Farrell
Social media platforms, although often vilified in popular media, carry several potential benefits for expatriate training. This study set out to discuss in some depth whether…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media platforms, although often vilified in popular media, carry several potential benefits for expatriate training. This study set out to discuss in some depth whether social media platforms can be employed to enhance expatriate training outcomes, such as performance, adjustment and cultural integration.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on insights from experiential learning theory, this study develops propositions and a conceptual model relating to the incorporation of social media platforms into expatriate training.
Findings
Joining insights from the expatriate training literature with experiential learning theory, this study proposes several potential avenues for social media platforms as training tools. While social media use is not likely to be efficacious in itself, this study argues that social media platforms can be leveraged to enhance expatriate language training, acculturation and professional networking. These mediating relationships enhance social media’s effects on expatriate performance and adjustment.
Originality/value
This study paves the way for future empirical works regarding the implementation of novel tools in the pursuit of expatriate excellence. This paper develops a comprehensive model illustrating how social media platforms can positively impact expatriate training outcomes.
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Dana A. Robertson, Evelyn Ford-Connors, Susan Dougherty and Jeanne R. Paratore
Purpose: To describe how an approach to instruction that intentionally considers elements of motivation and engagement, intensity of instruction, and cognitive challenge can…
Abstract
Purpose: To describe how an approach to instruction that intentionally considers elements of motivation and engagement, intensity of instruction, and cognitive challenge can accelerate the reading achievement of lower-performing readers by giving them access to and support to meet reading and knowledge building with success.
Design: The authors discuss a set of high-leverage practices squarely under the teacher’s control. Grounded in longstanding and rigorous research, the integrated set of practices have been shown time and time again to accelerate achievement beyond typical growth while also intentionally considering the experiences, cultures, and linguistic knowledge students bring to the classroom. The re-conceptualized approach forefronts student agency and engages students in meaningful interactions with text to build knowledge of the world they live in.
Findings: The authors illustrate the comprehensive approach through a composite vignette drawn from work with teachers and students in school and clinical contexts. The focus of the vignette is on the actions of the classroom teacher who is working to meet the needs of three struggling readers within the broader context of her 5th-grade classroom, while also establishing a coherent instructional approach with fellow teachers.
Practical Implications: By re-conceptualizing their approaches to working with struggling readers, teachers increase the likelihood that students will not only develop component skills related to reading but also integrate these components and develop the conceptual expertise that anchors future reading and learning.
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Stephanie Habersaat, Sid Hamed Abdellaoui and Jutta M. Wolf
The purpose of this study is (1) to confirm the relationship between the two dimensions of social desirability (pretending and denying), self-reported stress and health reports in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is (1) to confirm the relationship between the two dimensions of social desirability (pretending and denying), self-reported stress and health reports in police officers and (2) to assess whether dysfunctions in basal cortisol profiles are related to social desirability.
Design/methodology/approach
Social desirability is known to influence how individuals respond to sensitive topics, such as questions concerning health in the workplace, and has usually been defined according to two dimensions: pretending and denying. However, it is not known whether social desirability is only a bias in responding to health surveys or a more general attitude of denying problems and pretending to be stronger than one is in the everyday life. If the latter is true, social desirability may have important health implications, and underlying mechanisms must be described. In total, 77 police officers completed questionnaires measuring social desirability (denying and pretending), perceived stress as well as mental and somatic health symptoms. They were further instructed to collect saliva samples for cortisol concentrations assays.
Findings
These preliminary results showed that denying was negatively related to the report of stress and health symptoms. Furthermore, police officers higher in pretending showed a flatter diurnal cortisol slope.
Research limitations/implications
The correlation between dysregulation of the hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as expressed by a flatter cortisol slope, and a higher score in the pretending subscale suggests that looking for social approval by inflating one's capacities is related to chronic work-related stress, making the individual more vulnerable to stress-related disease.
Originality/value
To study the potential health-relevant consequences and underlying mechanisms of social desirability bias related to police culture by including stress biomarkers.