Victoria Salin and Rodolfo M. Nayga
This article examines the business relationships in the cold chain used for exporting food to new markets in developing countries. The American Potato Trade Alliance, a…
Abstract
This article examines the business relationships in the cold chain used for exporting food to new markets in developing countries. The American Potato Trade Alliance, a cross‐network alliance that includes all levels of the value chain, is the subject of case study research involving participant observation and fieldwork in the Philippines and Thailand. Multinational restaurant companies manage technical challenges in target markets with tight specifications and exclusive supply chains, while smaller firms use extensive networks to supply imported frozen potatoes. Pricing strategies for cold chain services are closely related to quality and potentially affect the availability of outsourced cold chain services. Opportunistic behavior by buyers could reduce incentives for private investment in cold chain infrastructure, while long‐term commitment by chain partners would strengthen the potential for private markets to provide cold chain services in newly developing markets.
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Gabriel J. Power, Victoria Salin and John L. Park
Building on the property rights framework, the purpose of this paper is to frame the cooperative business model in terms of strategic options held either by the board or by…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on the property rights framework, the purpose of this paper is to frame the cooperative business model in terms of strategic options held either by the board or by members. Options that are analyzed include growth and restructuring, dividend allocation, member entry and exit, and member embedded value options.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical estimates of the options' financial value, as well as sensitivity analyses, are presented for a stylized example using historical data and Monte Carlo option‐pricing methods. Attention is paid to the effect of member age, discount rate and business operation size.
Findings
Results suggest that the board's growth options can be substantial, while member options generally have small but nontrivial value. Implications for the stability of membership are drawn.
Practical implications
The financial or economic value of strategic options in agricultural cooperatives can be significant, and decision makers may benefit from accounting for their presence.
Originality/value
Cooperatives play an important role in agribusiness but have undergone significant changes in the past two decades in terms of organizational and financial structure. This paper contributes to an understanding of the value of control and residual rights associated with the Board and members of cooperatives.
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Helen De Cieri, Cathy Sheehan, Ross Donohue, Tracey Shea and Brian Cooper
The purpose of this paper is to apply the concept of power imbalance to explain workplace and demographic characteristics associated with bullying by different perpetrators in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply the concept of power imbalance to explain workplace and demographic characteristics associated with bullying by different perpetrators in the healthcare sector.
Design/methodology/approach
All 69,927 members of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victoria) were invited to participate in an online survey in 2014; 4,891 responses were received (7 per cent response rate). Participants were asked about their exposure to workplace bullying (WPB) by different perpetrators. The questionnaire addressed demographic characteristics and perceptions of workplace characteristics (workplace type, leading indicators of occupational health and safety (OHS), prioritisation of OHS, supervisor support for safety and bureaucracy). Analysis involved descriptive statistics and regression analyses.
Findings
The study found that the exposure of nurses and health workers to bullying is relatively high (with 42 per cent of respondents experiencing WPB in the past 12 months) and there are multiple perpetrators of bullying. The research revealed several demographic predictors associated with the different types of perpetrators. Downward and horizontal bullying were the most prevalent forms. Workplace characteristics were more important predictors of bullying by different perpetrators than were demographic characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
There are limitations to the study due to a low response rate and the cross-sectional survey.
Practical implications
Practical implications of this study emphasise the importance of focussed human resource strategies to prevent bullying.
Originality/value
The key contribution of this research is to draw from theoretical explanations of power to inform understanding of the differences between perpetrators of bullying. The study highlights the workplace characteristics that influence bullying.
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In a climate of under‐employment and perceived lack of upward career opportunities for new graduates, the aim of this study is to explore the role of professional development (PD…
Abstract
Purpose
In a climate of under‐employment and perceived lack of upward career opportunities for new graduates, the aim of this study is to explore the role of professional development (PD) in assisting established and new Library and Information Services' (LIS) practitioners to uPDate and extend their knowledge and skills.
Design/methodology/approach
Three methods of data collection have been used: literature review, content analysis of job descriptions, and interviews.
Findings
The literature identifies PD as an integral part of being professional and a review of job advertisements indicates an employer demand for a wide range of generic skills in addition to library‐specific skills. Interviews with LIS practitioners and graduates determines that PD is a useful tool in expanding knowledge and skills, with evidence of a generational difference in needs.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to a research sample of ten persons and was conducted in the calendar year of 2006. Volunteers were recruited with the aim to discuss their PD activities, therefore it is a reasonable assumption that all participants would have some commitment to PD. Although this study has identified that some employers require generic skills at a high level, a study comparing job advertisement requirements with the skills of successful applicants may give a truer indication of the current skills level of the twenty‐first century LIS worker.
Originality/value
The study offers a snapshot of generic skills required in the twenty‐first century library and information services industry. It identifies how, in a depressed labour market, PD can be a useful tool to assist established practitioners and new graduates to remain current, competitive and to fulfil basic professional requirements. The generational approaches to PD offer a useful insight into meeting the wants and needs of work.
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Victoria Hogan, Margaret Hodgins, Duncan Lewis, Sarah Maccurtain, Patricia Mannix-McNamara and Lisa Pursell
The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of ill-treatment and bullying experienced by Irish workers and to explore individual and organisational predictors. The most…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of ill-treatment and bullying experienced by Irish workers and to explore individual and organisational predictors. The most recent national figures available are specific to bullying and predate the economic recession; therefore, this study is timely and investigates a broader range of negative behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey study on a national probability sample of Irish employees was conducted (N = 1,764). The study design replicated the methodology employed in the British workplace behaviour study.
Findings
The results showed that 43% of Irish workers had experienced ill-treatment at work over the past two years, with 9% meeting the criteria for experiencing workplace bullying. A number of individual and organisational factors were found to be significantly associated with the experience of ill-treatment at work.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides national-level data on workplace ill-treatment and bullying that are directly comparable to British study findings.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that a significant number of Irish workers experience ill-treatment at work, and that workplace bullying does not appear to have decreased since the last national study was conducted in Ireland.
Social implications
This study is of use to the Irish regulator and persons responsible for managing workplace bullying cases, as it identifies high-risk work situations and contributing individual factors.
Originality/value
This study provides national Irish data on workplace behaviour and ill-treatment following a severe economic recession.
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Saima Ahmad, Rukhsana Kalim and Ahmad Kaleem
Despite an extensive history of research into workplace bullying and the psychosomatic harm associated with it in western contexts, research into the occurrence and manifestation…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite an extensive history of research into workplace bullying and the psychosomatic harm associated with it in western contexts, research into the occurrence and manifestation of bullying behavior in the academic workplaces of non-western countries is sparse. In response to this gap, the purpose of this paper is to start a research conversation by reporting an empirical enquiry into the occurrence, forms and perceptions of workplace bullying among academics in Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted with a representative sample of academics in a large Pakistani province through a cross-sectional survey.
Findings
This study reveals that workplace bullying is prevalent among academics in the Pakistani context, with up to half of them regularly exposed to practices such as excessive work monitoring, undermining of professional competence, lack of recognition of work contributions and obstruction of important work-related matters.
Research limitations/implications
The findings underscore the need for developing broader institutional actions, clear policies and grievance procedures to discourage bullying at work in Pakistan. Higher educational managers will find the results useful for development of anti-bullying policies and codes of conduct.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the perceptions, occurrence and demographic risk factors associated with workplace bullying among academics in the Pakistani context.
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Melanie Bryant, Donna Buttigieg and Glennis Hanley
This paper aims to investigate employee reports of workplace bullying in which participants argue that poor management of bullying led to a range of health problems, both physical…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate employee reports of workplace bullying in which participants argue that poor management of bullying led to a range of health problems, both physical and mental.
Design/methodology/approach
A constructivist approach is adopted to develop an understanding of individual experiences of bullying. Qualitative research interviews are used as the method of data collection and focus is on individual participants as the unit of analysis. Data are analyzed using thematic analysis in which both deductive and inductive themes are developed.
Findings
Findings suggest that lack of or poor workplace bullying policies impacts are used negatively on employee health. Specifically, analysis of employee reports suggest that the inability to successfully report bullying, or have bullying complaints taken seriously leads to ongoing implications for the individual.
Research implications
Future research needs to focus further on examining reasons why some organizations do not develop and implement anti‐bullying policies, as well as further investigate the characteristics of bullying cultures so that effective interventions can be developed and health issues associated with bullying minimized.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to workplace health practice by providing insight into the risks that poor bullying management can have on the health of employees. It is proposed that such consequences could lead to an increase in litigations in the event that employees demonstrate that organizations have not provided a duty of care. Finally, the paper argues that organizations that do not attempt to prevent bullying may inadvertently contribute to the long‐term development of organizational cultures that tolerate harassment and abuse.
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Tui McKeown, Melanie Bryant and Luise Raeder
Perhaps no other workplace issue represents better the harm that can come of neglecting emotional experiences in organizations than workplace bullying. Organizational…
Abstract
Perhaps no other workplace issue represents better the harm that can come of neglecting emotional experiences in organizations than workplace bullying. Organizational interventions aimed at the reduction of workplace bullying generally emphasize the identification of negative employee behaviors and the punitive consequences associated with the manifestation of these behaviors at work. While such interventions raise awareness of the unacceptability of workplace bullying, we argue that they generally adopt a “compliance” approach aimed solely at dealing with bullying after it has occurred rather than developing strategic initiatives that proactively promote workplace wellness. We detail a project within the Victorian public sector, which developed a proactive framework for the prevention of workplace bullying based on the principles of positive psychology. The chapter concludes with the view that the Positive Workplace Environment framework we develop is clearly applicable to a much wider range of issues than bullying and that embedding any call for organizational change within such a framework is likely to find resonance with both practitioners and researcher alike.
Dianne Gardner, Maree Roche, Tim Bentley, Helena Cooper-Thomas, Bevan Catley, Stephen Teo and Linda Trenberth
Workplace bullying involves a power imbalance, and despite laws in New Zealand which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of gender, women remain under-represented in top-level…
Abstract
Purpose
Workplace bullying involves a power imbalance, and despite laws in New Zealand which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of gender, women remain under-represented in top-level roles. The aim of the study was to examine whether gender and role (managerial/non-managerial) were related to the bullying experienced by women and men.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey collected data from 991 (41%) men and 1,421 (59%) women. The survey provided a definition of bullying and asked participants whether they had been bullied at work. If they replied yes, then follow-up questions asked for the gender and role of the perpetrator.
Findings
Women were more likely than men to self-identify as having been bullied. Male employers, senior managers, middle managers, supervisor and peers bullied men and women about equally, whereas women bullied women far more than they bullied men. The largest group of bullies of women were female peers, who rarely bullied male peers, while male peers bullied both genders about equally. Female clients bullied female staff but almost never male staff; male clients bullied both men and women but the numbers were small.
Research limitations/implications
These data relied on self-report, and people may be reluctant to identify themselves as targets or may not recognize that the negative behaviours they have been facing amount to bullying. Qualitative data can help explore these issues from societal, organizational and policy perspectives.
Practical implications
While men and women may differ in how often they recognize or admit to having been bullied, the gendered nature of power in the workplace is well established and reinforced in the findings here. It is clear that organizational leaders, both male and female, need to understand gender and power imbalance and act as role models. Currently, the authors’ findings show that the behaviour of at least some of those at the top of New Zealand organizations needs to improve.
Social implications
The problem of bullying at work will not be easy to solve. The solutions lie, not with “fixing” individuals via training, stress management and well-being programmes but with effective systems, procedures, policies and leadership that recognize the power dynamics at work.
Originality/value
Little is known at present about the relationships between gender and bullying behaviour. The paper focusses on who bullies whom in the workplace and finds that men tend to bully both men and women while women tend to bully women. Importantly, the authors’ works suggest that instead of structural and organizational measures to manage bullying, greater initiatives to manage bullying need to consider how gender and power dynamics interact at work.