Wayne A. Hollman and Brian H. Kleiner
Rapport is important in business. It can be described as a feeling you experience when you are with someone you intuitively like. And since so much of communication is non‐verbal…
Abstract
Rapport is important in business. It can be described as a feeling you experience when you are with someone you intuitively like. And since so much of communication is non‐verbal, rapport is often developed on more of a subconscious or subliminal level. There are many methods and ways to help establish and build rapport. Some of these are verbal, such as matching another’s rate of speech. But many are through non‐verbal communication, such as pacing, mirroring, leading, or study of another’s sensory perceptions. Contends that using these techniques in building rapport can help us in our personal relationships, and certainly has application in business as well.
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Meaghan Stovel and Nick Bontis
The onset of the knowledge era has affected all industries. Without exception, the Canadian financial services industry has transformed itself due to the knowledge‐intensive…
Abstract
The onset of the knowledge era has affected all industries. Without exception, the Canadian financial services industry has transformed itself due to the knowledge‐intensive structure it possesses. However, high competition and career‐minded professionals have created a situation in which leading financial services firms are losing key human capital each day – capital that can and will be used against them in the modern, fast‐paced labour market. In the fight for the brightest senior executives, portfolio managers and fund administrators, human resource professionals must pay attention to the investments they are making in their employees through training and development, while monitoring reward and recognition programs, so that loss of intellectual capital is kept to a minimum. This study examines 19 Canadian financial service firms and their current human capital practices. Results show that while human resource managers are effectively managing the people in their organizations through training and development, performance reviews, and the effective management of fluctuating workforce demands. However, this study highlights the need for greater attention to be paid to the leveraging of human capital that exists within their knowledge‐intensive workforce. Furthermore, research findings strongly suggest the need to increase knowledge management behaviours such as the valuation and codification of organizational knowledge assets.
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René M. Rodríguez-Astacio, Christian M. Hines and Henry “Cody" Miller
The purpose of the study is to analyze how the popular comic book series DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults depicts superhero, civilian and villains of color in the titles and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to analyze how the popular comic book series DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults depicts superhero, civilian and villains of color in the titles and address how the collection engages in or avoids discussions of racism.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a critical race content analysis to analyze how characters of color are represented in the DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults collection.
Findings
The findings demonstrate the series’ uneven attempts at writing about race and racism. The DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults illustrates more radical politics in some titles but reifies dominant beliefs in others. The analysis also shows how many titles approach discussions of oppression from a single axis approach rather than an intersectional one. The series strives for racial diversity and justice; sometimes achieving the goal, but not always.
Research limitations/implications
The study demonstrates how the DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults constructs hegemonic ideas of “appropriateness” about race, racism and readership in some titles while offering explicit discussions about race and racism in others.
Practical implications
The authors outline potential ways English teachers can position titles in the DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults in English classrooms to develop students’ racial literacies.
Originality/value
This paper provides an analysis of superhero comics produced specifically for adolescent readers and written by an intentional racially diverse cohort of authors. The methodology can inform future studies of graphic novels for adolescent readers.
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David C. Wyld, Sam D. Cappel and Daniel E. Hallock
Years ago, Henry D. Lloyd defined religion as being the “conscience in action.” The concept of religion is one which is indeed completely individualised in both perspective and…
Abstract
Years ago, Henry D. Lloyd defined religion as being the “conscience in action.” The concept of religion is one which is indeed completely individualised in both perspective and importance. However, as Bailey (1983) observed, the very basis for theology lies in the explanatory power of religion when examined through the perspective of psychology. Byron (1988) saw a theological basis to the functions of management and entrepreneurship, linking these activities to the religious duty of stewardship.
This study aims to examine the pattern of behavior of turnover intentions in developing countries vis‐à‐vis the one in advanced countries through the empirical data from public…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the pattern of behavior of turnover intentions in developing countries vis‐à‐vis the one in advanced countries through the empirical data from public universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study provides empirical evidence from academia in Pakistan, thereby enriching the understanding of similarities or differences in development‐attitude‐behavior relationship. In addition, the study also looks into the social exchange theory and human capital theory that affect employee's attitude and behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a sample of 329 collected from 16 public universities in the province with about 3,500 population for analysis. The hypothesized relationships are tested using Amos 18 through path analysis.
Findings
The results indicate employee's turnover intention is predicted by employee development perceptions. The study validates the theory of development‐attitude‐behavior relationship.
Research limitations/implications
The paper carries discussion about the methodology used in the paper, limitations of the research and recommendations for possible future research.
Originality/value
This is an empirical study of academia in a region of Pakistan with a sufficiently large sample that has not been carried out earlier. The study has importance for those at the helm of affairs and policy makers.
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Jenny Sok, Robert Jan Blomme, Melanie De Ruiter, Debbie Tromp and X.D. Lub
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between home-to-work spillover, measured as positive and negative home–work interference (HWI) and turnover intentions, as well as…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between home-to-work spillover, measured as positive and negative home–work interference (HWI) and turnover intentions, as well as the mediating role of perceptions concerning training and development practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected among 418 respondents who were working at two business schools. A confirmative structural equation modeling analysis was conducted for the analysis.
Findings
As expected, positive HWI showed negative relationships with turnover intentions, while negative HWI related positively to turnover intentions. Training and development practices mediated the relationship between positive HWI and turnover intentions; the mediation effect was stronger for women than it was for men. Training and development practices did not mediate the relationship between negative HWI and turnover intentions, however.
Practical implications
The outcomes suggest that helping employees to balance their work and home lives can be beneficial for employees, as well as for employers in terms of reducing turnover intentions.
Originality/value
As contributions, additional insight into the relationship between positive and negative non-work factors and turnover intentions by examining the ways in which both positive as well as negative HWI are related to turnover intentions. Furthermore, the research considers the mediating role played by perceptions concerning human resource (HR) practices, and particularly training and development practices as perceived by the employee, in the relationship between positive and negative HWI and turnover intentions.
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Mohammad Suleiman Awwad and Haya Ibrahim Heyari
This study aimed at investigating the impact of some financial indicators (salary competitiveness, employee productivity, company performance and company size), disclosed in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed at investigating the impact of some financial indicators (salary competitiveness, employee productivity, company performance and company size), disclosed in the annual financial reports, on employee turnover in Jordanian pharmaceutical companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE).
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal design with cross-sectional time-series (panel) data from annual financial reports of six Jordanian pharmaceutical companies, listed on the ASE for the period 2009–2018, was used to measure employees’ turnover and its precedents quantitively. The panel data of 160 observations (six companies with ten-time periods) were analyzed using STATA 15.0 to achieve study objectives.
Findings
Contrary to what is expected, the results showed that salary competitiveness does not affect employee turnover, and employee productivity positively affects employee turnover. In contrast, the results of this study supported the widespread belief that company performance and size negatively affect employee turnover.
Research limitations/implications
This study does not address voluntary and mandatory turnover because it is very difficult to distinguish the two types based on financial reports. Also, other important variables (medical expenses, training expenses, etc.), which can affect employee turnover are not disclosed in the financial reports of all pharmaceutical companies due to the lack of uniform financial reporting standards.
Practical implications
Pharmaceutical companies should not focus on salaries to attract and retain employees but rather provide them with a distinct set of other benefits including salaries. Also, it should try to reduce the workload of employees by increasing their number to the extent that it does not constitute an additional burden on other employees.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt, according to a literature review, to measure employee turnover and its antecedents based on financial indicators disclosed in the pharmaceutical companies’ annual financial reports.
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Dae‐seok Kang, Jim Stewart and Hayeon Kim
This study aims to investigate the role of perceived external prestige (PEP), ethical organizational climate, and leader‐member exchange (LMX) quality in explaining organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the role of perceived external prestige (PEP), ethical organizational climate, and leader‐member exchange (LMX) quality in explaining organizational and career commitment, and also analyzes effects of the two commitments on motivation to participate in training and turnover intention.
Design/methodology/approach
Relationships among the constructs are predicted based on relevant literature, and are tested using survey results from 477 employees working in 15 of the leading corporations in South Korea.
Findings
Structural equation modeling (SEM) shows that ethical organizational climate and LMX quality are a significant correlate of both forms of commitment, whereas perceived external prestige is a predictor of organizational commitment but not career commitment. Furthermore, as a mediator, each form of commitment also affects employees' training participation motivation and their turnover intention.
Originality/value
Overall, the value of this study lies in its focus on multiple forms of commitment reflecting current employment relationships, and in the identification of new variables for use by HR professionals in determining ways to improve both commitment to organization and career.
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Okechukwu Ethelbert Amah and Kabiru Oyetuunde
Employee turnover has been established as a major cause of the abysmal performance of SMEs in Nigeria. Hence, the study explored the role of servant leadership and the work…
Abstract
Purpose
Employee turnover has been established as a major cause of the abysmal performance of SMEs in Nigeria. Hence, the study explored the role of servant leadership and the work climate created by the leader in the reduction of employee turnover in SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved 1,000 participants drawn from 200 SMEs in the city of Lagos. Cross-sectional data was acquired through questionnaire designed in such a way as to minimise common method variance.
Findings
Results indicate that servant leadership reduced employee turnover, and that employee voice and the career growth dimensions partially mediated this relationship. The study variables explained 59% of the variance in employee turnover.
Practical implications
The paper highlights that SMEs leaders who adopt servant leadership behaviour can reduce employee turnover directly and through the positive work environment they create. SMEs leaders must not only be servant leaders but must ensure that the entire organisation is managed by servant leaders. They achieve this through recruitment and promotion process.
Originality/value
Past studies in Nigeria were in the area of government intervention and the effects of turnover on the productivity of SMEs. This appears to be the only paper that studied the effects of leadership on employee turnover in SMEs in Nigeria. This study advances research by studying the effect of servant leadership and the work environment created by leaders on employee turnover. Thus, the study advances past studies by suggesting possible ways to reduce employee turnover and enhancing the needed productivity of SMEs in Nigeria.
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Lisa Evans and Ian Fraser
The paper aims to explore the social origins of Scottish chartered accountants and the accounting stereotype as portrayed in popular fiction.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore the social origins of Scottish chartered accountants and the accounting stereotype as portrayed in popular fiction.
Design/methodology/approach
The detective novels of the Scottish chartered accountant Alexander Clark Smith are used as a lens through which to explore the social origins of accountants and the changing popular representations of the accountant.
Findings
The novels contribute to our understanding of the construction of accounting stereotypes and of the social origins of Scottish accountants. They suggest that, while working class access to the profession was a reality, so was class division within it. In addition, Smith was ahead of contemporary professional discourse in creating a protagonist who combines the positive aspects of the traditional stereotype with qualities of a private‐eye action‐hero, and who uses accounting skills to uncover corruption and address (social) wrongs. However, this unconventional portrayal may have been incongruent with the image the profession wished to portray. The public image (or stereotype) portrayed by its members would have been as important in signalling and maintaining the profession's collective status as the recruitment of its leadership from social elites.
Originality/value
Smith's portrayal of accountants in personal and societal settings at a time of profound social change, as well as his background in the Scottish profession, provide a rich source for the study of social origins of Scottish chartered accountancy during the first half of the twentieth century. Further, Smith's novels are of a popular genre, and innovative in the construction of their hero and of accounting itself; as such they merit attention because of their potential to influence the construction of the accounting stereotype(s) within the popular imagination.