Thomas Packard and Loring Jones
– The purpose of this paper is to report the impact of a leadership development initiative in eight organizations and to demonstrate the use of promising evaluation methods.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report the impact of a leadership development initiative in eight organizations and to demonstrate the use of promising evaluation methods.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used multiple methods including surveys with quantitative and qualitative data from participants and their supervisors.
Findings
Program participants and their supervisors reported improved on-the-job performance of participants. There were statistically significant increases in participant self-efficacy over time.
Research limitations/implications
In this time series design, some changes may be due to factors besides the program. Limitations in self-report data, common in studies such as this, were partially mediated by the use of supervisor ratings. Future research could include more objective measures of performance.
Practical implications
Because this evaluation reported on-the-job performance improvements for participants in a leadership development program, other organizations can adapt the program model and expect similar performance improvements. This study also advances leadership development evaluation methods by addressing on-the-job performance to a much greater extent than in past studies.
Social implications
This study of a program training leaders in human service organizations can help similar organizations better train their leaders with expectations of improving the quality of life for clients such as families experiencing poverty, unemployment, and child abuse or neglect.
Originality/value
This evaluation makes a unique contribution in terms of measurement of on-the-job performance of program participants in a time series design which includes ratings of supervisors and self-ratings, benefiting organizations designing such programs and evaluations of them.
Details
Keywords
The concept of organisational or corporate “culture” has in recent years forced its way to the forefront of the managerial and academic literature. So much so that the 1980s seem…
Abstract
The concept of organisational or corporate “culture” has in recent years forced its way to the forefront of the managerial and academic literature. So much so that the 1980s seem destined to be the “culture” decade. This organisational culture “movement” has been seen as part of a wider change of direction in managerial theory, led by the so‐called “new management thinkers”. Very briefly, organisational culture is usually seen as the “atmosphere” of the organisation, or the attitudes, feelings and beliefs of employees. Others have suggested that it conveys to employees “the way things are done around here”.
About the year 1806 or 1807 consumers of cane sugar, and particularly those in central Europe, began to find out that there was very little of this kind of sugar to be obtained…
Abstract
About the year 1806 or 1807 consumers of cane sugar, and particularly those in central Europe, began to find out that there was very little of this kind of sugar to be obtained. Naval warfare and Napoleon's Continental System had resulted in something very like a sugar famine; and the only means of relief appeared to be either to extend and improve the existing methods of producing sugar from the beetroot or to discover new sources of saccharine matter from materials furnished by Europe itself, and so to make Europe independent of supplies of overseas sugar. Napoleon—the master of Europe at that time—made it his first care to provide, as far as possible, for the needs of the people of France; and French chemists were ordered and encouraged to undertake researches with the view to finding a more or less efficient substitute for cane sugar and molasses. The first step which was taken in the direction of relieving the situation was taken by Proust, who turned his attention to the possibilities inherent in grape juice. After a little time he had so well succeeded in his research that he was able to present the people of France with a sort of treacle, and with this it appears the masses had to be contented for about four years; refined cane sugar had become somewhat of a luxury. The use of molasses was the common practice in Germany—where the cost of moist sugar had been about fifteen pence a pound for some years before the time we are referring to. Proust's treacle must have proved an exceedingly poor article, and Napoleon, realising that human endurance of this would not survive for long, appointed a Committee, with the celebrated Chaptal as its head, to consider the best means of introducing the manufacture of beet sugar into France. Chaptal had succeeded Lucien Bonaparte as Minister of the Interior in 1801. He was the President of the Society for the Encouragement of National Industries, and in all respects he was well qualified to supervise a public enquiry of such importance. Marggraf's discovery in 1747 had already been taken advantage of to some extent in Prussia, and Achard of Berlin and others were already cultivating the beetroot and obtaining small quantities of beet sugar. After an interval of three or four years, during which careful examination had been made of the Prussian methods and results with beet sugar, Chaptal was able to send in a favourable report to Napoleon regarding their probable success in France. Events then moved rapidly. By Imperial decree 32 thousand hectares, say 80 thousand acres, of French soil were at once sown with beet. An absolute embargo was placed on all overseas sugar; and in the same year (1811) Chaptal was created Count de Chantaloupe. The start of the beet sugar industry in Europe may be said to date from this time.
In 1969, Warren Nutter left the University of Virginia Department of Economics to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Nixon…
Abstract
In 1969, Warren Nutter left the University of Virginia Department of Economics to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Nixon administration. During his time in the Defense Department, Nutter was deeply involved in laying the groundwork for a military coup against the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende. Although Nutter left the Pentagon several months before the successful 1973 coup, his role in Chile was far more direct than the better-known cases of Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, James Buchanan, and Arnold Harberger. This chapter describes Nutter’s role in Chile policymaking in the Nixon administration. It shows how Nutter’s criticisms of Henry Kissinger are grounded in his economics, and compares and contrasts Nutter with other economists who have been connected to Pinochet’s dictatorship.
Details
Keywords
Because of the special “State of the States” issue of Library Hi Tech and other circumstances beyond my control, the four quarterly “Comp Lit” compilations for 1996 appear here in…
Abstract
Because of the special “State of the States” issue of Library Hi Tech and other circumstances beyond my control, the four quarterly “Comp Lit” compilations for 1996 appear here in a single and possibly peculiar chunk. A lot changes in a year of personal computing, but on reflection it seemed useful to include the citations and comments as I originally wrote them.
This article aims to explore the impact of the Great War on the Sheffield armaments industry through the use of four company case studies in Thomas Firth, John Brown, Cammell…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to explore the impact of the Great War on the Sheffield armaments industry through the use of four company case studies in Thomas Firth, John Brown, Cammell Laird and Hadfields. It charts the evolving situation the armaments companies found themselves in after the end of the conflict and the uncertain external environment they had to engage with. The article also examines the stagnant nature of armaments companies’ boards of directors in the 1920s and the ultimate rationalisation of the industry at the close of the decade.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is based around a close examination of the surviving manuscript records of each of the companies included, the records of the speeches recorded by chairpersons at annual meetings and some governmental records.
Findings
The article concludes by outlining how the end of the Great War continued to affect the industry for the following decade and the complex evolving situation with a changing external environment and continuity of management internally ultimately leading to mergers in the industry.
Originality/value
This article uses a number of underused manuscript records to examine the Sheffield armaments industry and explores the effect of a global mega event in the Great War on one of the most technologically advanced industries of the period.
Details
Keywords
Total quality management does improve organizational performance and remains the most viable long‐term business strategy around. These were the findings of arecent report entitled…
Abstract
Total quality management does improve organizational performance and remains the most viable long‐term business strategy around. These were the findings of a recent report entitled “TQM: Forging a Need or Falling Behind?”, commissioned by Development Dimensions International of Pittsburgh, the Quality & Productivity Management Association of Schaumburg, Illinois, and Industry Week, which were based on interviews with 6,500 people in 84 organizations. However, on considering the various elements which help or hinder TQM implementation, training emerged as the one successful theme in successful programmes.
Rosemary Vito and Bharati Sethi
The lived paid work experiences of two women (a European Canadian-born and a South Asian immigrant) demonstrate how low-quality leader–member exchanges and poor diversity…
Abstract
Purpose
The lived paid work experiences of two women (a European Canadian-born and a South Asian immigrant) demonstrate how low-quality leader–member exchanges and poor diversity management negatively influence employees' health, job satisfaction and retention during a period of major organizational change.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper combined a narrative case study with auto ethnography to examine the lived paid work experiences of the two female authors and identify common patterns of meaning within the data.
Findings
The analysis of personalized accounts demonstrate the damaging results of a failed change management initiative when leaders did not follow an organizational change model and used an authoritarian leadership style. Further, the low-quality leader–member exchanges and poor diversity management reduced authors' feelings of inclusion and negatively impacted their emotional and physical health, job satisfaction, and retention.
Research limitations/implications
New knowledge gained about leader–member exchange and diversity management has implications not only for leaders, but also human service managers. The data represents the authors' two perspectives, constraining generalizability. Larger samples of employees' narratives from diverse cultural/work backgrounds would be valuable to inform organizational change.
Practical implications
The paper provides practical reasons for leadership training and skill development in change management models.
Social implications
Given global demographic diversity, the findings are relevant to organizations, highlighting the importance of creating a climate of inclusion for workers' job satisfaction and retention and organizational success.
Originality/value
While the sample size (n = 2) is very small, using a combination of personal experience methods offered insights into the complexity of leader–member exchange and diversity management from workers' perspectives, and went beyond successful cases, adding value to organizational change research.
Details
Keywords
Christina Saenger, Veronica L. Thomas and Dora E. Bock
When consumers experience a self-threat that calls their self-concept into question, the ensuing psychological discomfort motivates them to restore their self-perceptions on the…
Abstract
Purpose
When consumers experience a self-threat that calls their self-concept into question, the ensuing psychological discomfort motivates them to restore their self-perceptions on the threatened attribute. Although consumers can restore a threatened self-perception by consuming products and brands that possess the desired symbolic associations, this study aims to propose that word of mouth can serve to resolve self-threat and restore a threatened self-perception when the brand at the center of a word-of-mouth communication is symbolically congruent with the domain of the threat.
Design/methodology/approach
Experimental online survey research was conducted, inducing self-threat, manipulating brand and word-of-mouth conditions and measuring self-perceptions. Data for three studies were analyzed using SPSS and Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS macro.
Findings
Three studies show that spreading word of mouth can restore consumers’ threatened self-perceptions when the brand is symbolically congruent with the threat domain. Word of mouth about a symbolically congruent brand alleviates psychological discomfort, resulting in higher self-perceptions on the threatened attribute. The restorative effect is amplified for lower self-esteem consumers.
Research limitations/implications
Participants in the focal conditions were required to spread word of mouth, which may not be an organic response for all consumers; although not spreading word of mouth is ineffective, other compensatory consumer behavior options exist. The brand option was provided to participants, which allowed for control but may have reduced some of the realism.
Practical implications
Positioning brands to meet consumers’ psychological needs encourages the development of consumer–brand attachments. Brands that resonate with consumers reap the benefits of consumers’ active loyalty behaviors and enjoy stronger brand equity. The present research implies a new way consumers can form brand attachments: by spreading word of mouth to resolve self-threat. As many consumers post detailed, personal information online, this research suggests firms can align their brand messages with relevant identity-related discrepancies.
Originality/value
This research extends the symbolic self-completion compensatory consumption strategy to the word-of-mouth context, showing that consumers can achieve the same restorative effect as consumption by spreading word of mouth. This research also contributes to compensatory word-of-mouth literature by establishing the role of brand meaning.
Details
Keywords
Thomas J. Caruso, Juan Luis Sandin Marquez, Melanie S. Gipp, Stephen P. Kelleher and Paul J. Sharek
No studies have examined preoperative handoffs from the intensive care unit (ICU) to OR. Given the risk of patient harm, the authors developed a standardized ICU to OR handoff…
Abstract
Purpose
No studies have examined preoperative handoffs from the intensive care unit (ICU) to OR. Given the risk of patient harm, the authors developed a standardized ICU to OR handoff using a previously published handoff model. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether a standardized ICU to OR handoff process would increase the number of team handoffs and improve patient transport readiness.
Design/methodology/approach
The intervention consisted of designing a multidisciplinary, face-to-face handoff between sending ICU providers and receiving anesthesiologist and OR nurse, verbally presented in the I-PASS format. Anticipatory calls from the OR nurse to the ICU nurse were made to prepare the patient for transport. Data collected included frequency of handoff, patient transport readiness, turnover time between OR cases, and anesthesia provider satisfaction.
Findings
In total, 57 audits were completed. The frequency of handoffs increased from 25 to 86 percent (p<0.0001) and the frequency of patient readiness increased from 61 to 97 percent (p=0.001). There were no changes in timeliness of first start cases and no significant change in turnover times between cases. Anesthesia provider satisfaction scores increased significantly.
Practical implications
A standardized, team based ICU to OR handoff increased the frequency of face-to-face handoffs, patient readiness and anesthesia provider satisfaction within increasing turnover between cases.
Originality/value
Although studies have identified the transition of patients from the ICU to the OR as a period of increased harm, the development of a preoperative ICU to OR handoff had not been described. This intervention may be used in other institutions to design ICU to OR transitions of care.