Management and 1992 — Illusions and reality

Dr Butt Philip takes a refreshingly unsycophantic view of ‘1992’, pointing out that, away from the hype, a good deal of the Single European Market (SEM) programme has been in place for some time. Although the European Commission's timing and tactics over the SEM programme were shrewd, in Britain at least, the national campaign has been confusing.It is a company's business development and positioning in relation to 1992 that matters, and this involves both an internal ‘1992 audit’ as well as making sure it is well represented in Brussels.Although giving us cautionary good advice, the author feels a sense of Zeitgeist about the SEM programme and the federal Europe that it implies. Attitudes and institutions in business must be developed to achieve the destiny of European integration.     

Work and shopping overflow — Consequences and differentiation among selected psychological and demographic characteristics

Contemporary individuals are forced to deal with excessive stimulation, which causes an overload in the cognitive and emotional areas. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possible factors differentiating the perceived level of work and shopping overflow experienced by individuals and consequences of these states. Two psychological variables: cognitive control and sensation seeking, are chosen as potential factors differentiating the perceived levels of overflow. We assume that individuals with high cognitive control and sensation seeking will report lower levels of both types of examined overflows. Experiencing low overflow levels may manifest in the search for additional stimuli, rather than in the desire to limit them. Two indexes of behavior connected to seeking extra stimulation are selected: one belonging to the area of consumer behavior (readiness to participate in the experience economy) and one belonging to vocational behavior (choosing a boundaryless career). The quantitative study is conducted on a sample of 297 management students who are currently employed. The research results support the relation between cognitive control and perceived level of work and shopping overflow. Individuals who can cognitively control the situation and the incoming stimuli report lower levels of overflow. No significant relationship between sensation seeking and the level of overflow is found. The demographic variables that influence the perceived overflow are age and salary for work overflow and age for shopping overflow. As far as consequences of overflow are concerned, a low level of shopping overflow is related to readiness to participate in the experience economy. However, there is no link between work overflow and preferred career pattern. The managerial implications for human resource management and marketing strategy design are discussed.     

Economic and social leader–member exchange relationships and follower performance

This exploratory study investigated the link between economic and social leader–member exchange relationships and follower work performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Instead of viewing exchange relationships between leaders and subordinates on a continuum from low to high quality, we conceptualize social and economic exchange relationships as relationships with different qualities, rather than different levels of quality. Data from 552 followers and 78 leaders supported our two-dimensional model of leader–member exchange relationships. Furthermore, an economic leader–member exchange relationship was negatively related to both work performance and organizational citizenship behavior. As expected, positive relationships were obtained for a social leader–member exchange relationship and work performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Approximation and hardness results for label cut and related problems

We investigate a natural combinatorial optimization problem called the Label Cut problem. Given an input graph G with a source s and a sink t, the edges of G are classified into different categories, represented by a set of labels. The labels may also have weights. We want to pick a subset of labels of minimum cardinality (or minimum total weight), such that the removal of all edges with these labels disconnects s and t. We give the first non-trivial approximation and hardness results for the Label Cut problem. Firstly, we present an \(O(\sqrt{m})\)-approximation algorithm for the Label Cut problem, where m is the number of edges in the input graph. Secondly, we show that it is NP-hard to approximate Label Cut within \(2^{\log ^{1-1/\log\log^{c}n}n}\) for any constant c<1/2, where n is the input length of the problem. Thirdly, our techniques can be applied to other previously considered optimization problems. In particular we show that the Minimum Label Path problem has the same approximation hardness as that of Label Cut, simultaneously improving and unifying two known hardness results for this problem which were previously the best (but incomparable due to different complexity assumptions).     

6 Pay and Performance: Individuals,Groups, and Executives

Abstract

In this chapter, we address three pay for performance (PFP) questions. First, what are the conceptual mechanisms by which PFP influences performance? Second, what programs do organizations use to implement PFP and what is the empirical evidence on their effectiveness? Third, what perils and pitfalls arise on the way from PFP theory to its execution in organizations? We address these questions in general terms, but also highlight unique issues that arise in PFP for teams and for executives. We highlight the fact that research and practice in the area of PFP requires one to deal with a number of trade‐offs. For example, strengthening PFP links can generate powerful motivation effects, but sometimes these are in unintended and unanticipated directions, resulting in undesirable effects. In addition, there are also trade‐offs in deciding the degree of emphasis to give to individual versus team performance and to results versus behaviors in PFP plans. What all this means is that, as in other areas of management, “one best way” advice (e.g., do or do not use individual PFP plans) or “sound‐bite” conclusions (e.g., PFP does not exist; PFP does or does not motivate) are rarely valid, but rather depend on the circumstances and the organization. In the realm of executive pay, we question the current conventional wisdom in the management literature that there is little or no PFP. We close the chapter with a discussion of our key conclusions and suggestions for what we think would be the most interesting and useful future research areas. We encourage the management literature, which has increasingly become interested in the concept of evidence‐based management, to execute this concept more effectively in its research and when talking or writing about pay.     

How to motivate yourself and others? Intended and unintended consequences

To achieve goals, individuals and organizations must understand how to effectively motivate themselves and others. We review three broad strategies that people employ to increase motivation: giving feedback, setting goal targets, and applying incentives. Although each of these strategies can effectively motivate action under certain circumstances and among certain people, they can also result in unintended consequences: not helping or even hurting motivation. For example, employers may give positive feedback that leads employees to relax their effort or negative feedback that undermines employees’ commitment, organizations may set goals that are overly ambitious and consequently reduce motivation, and certain incentives might appear attractive before pursuing an action but uncertain incentives better motivate action during goal pursuit. By identifying when and how these common motivational strategies work versus fail, we are able to prescribe a specific set of guidelines that will help people understand how to motivate themselves and others.     

When and with whom to cooperate? Investigating effects of cooperation stage and type on innovation capabilities and success

In times of saturated markets and decreasing product life cycles, the continuous development and successful launch of innovations are essential for profit-oriented organizations of any kind. Interorganizational cooperation enables companies to get better access to knowledge and capabilities in order to generate and successfully introduce innovations. While scientific research and management practice have acknowledged the importance of cooperation, little research effort is dedicated to empirically determine the effectiveness of cooperation intensity within different stages of the innovation process (cooperation stage) and with different partners (cooperation type). This article aims to fill these gaps by empirically examining the effects of cooperation intensity with different kinds of partners (horizontal, vertical and institutional cooperation) in different stages of new product development (concept and product development as well as implementation stage) on innovation capabilities and success of individual companies. Drawing upon a sample of 154 high-tech companies from the German B-2-B sector, our results reveal that it is in general beneficial for a company to cooperate. However, cooperation in concept and product development primarily improves a company's innovation capabilities while cooperation in the implementation stage primarily enhances innovation success of a company. With respect to cooperation type, vertical, horizontal as well as institutional cooperation significantly enhance innovation capabilities and success of a company. However, cooperation with institutional partners was found to be the most important contributor throughout all stages.     

Flows with unit path capacities and related packing and covering problems

Since the seminal work of Ford and Fulkerson in the 1950s, network flow theory is one of the most important and most active areas of research in combinatorial optimization. Coming from the classical maximum flow problem, we introduce and study an apparently basic but new flow problem that features a couple of interesting peculiarities. We derive several results on the complexity and approximability of the new problem. On the way we also discover two closely related basic covering and packing problems that are of independent interest. Starting from an LP formulation of the maximum s-t-flow problem in path variables, we introduce unit upper bounds on the amount of flow being sent along each path. The resulting (fractional) flow problem is NP-hard; its integral version is strongly NP-hard already on very simple classes of graphs. For the fractional problem we present an FPTAS that is based on solving the k shortest paths problem iteratively. We show that the integral problem is hard to approximate and give an interesting O(log?m)-approximation algorithm, where m is the number of arcs in the considered graph. For the multicommodity version of the problem there is an $O(\sqrt{m})Since the seminal work of Ford and Fulkerson in the 1950s, network flow theory is one of the most important and most active areas of research in combinatorial optimization. Coming from the classical maximum flow problem, we introduce and study an apparently basic but new flow problem that features a couple of interesting peculiarities. We derive several results on the complexity and approximability of the new problem. On the way we also discover two closely related basic covering and packing problems that are of independent interest. Starting from an LP formulation of the maximum s-t-flow problem in path variables, we introduce unit upper bounds on the amount of flow being sent along each path. The resulting (fractional) flow problem is NP-hard; its integral version is strongly NP-hard already on very simple classes of graphs. For the fractional problem we present an FPTAS that is based on solving the k shortest paths problem iteratively. We show that the integral problem is hard to approximate and give an interesting O(log m)-approximation algorithm, where m is the number of arcs in the considered graph. For the multicommodity version of the problem there is an O(?m)O(\sqrt{m}) -approximation algorithm. We argue that this performance guarantee is best possible, unless P=NP.     

Attachment and emotion regulation: Compensatory interactions and leader–member exchange

The current study draws on attachment theory (Bowlby, 1982) to examine how attachment (a relationship-based trait disposition), and the interaction between attachment and emotion regulation, relate to LMX quality. Data were collected from subordinates and supervisors in a variety of work settings. Attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance negatively predicted LMX quality. Moderator effects were found between attachment and emotion regulation.     

Old and New Organizational Cages. What about Autonomy and Freedom?

The discourses on the so-called “post-bureaucracy” emphasizes the importance of autonomy and freedom in present-day organizations. Yet, differently to the discourses, the practices are not univocal and there is a mix of continuity and transformation to be investigated. The article addresses these issues aiming to understand if and how organizational cages are changing, in particular in the public sector. After discussing the issues of autonomy and freedom in the contemporary organizations, the analysis focuses on the New Public Management in Italy on the basis of a case study. The research highlights the role of institutional and social resources that mediate freedom and autonomy.     

Median problems with positive and negative weights on cycles and cacti

This paper deals with facility location problems on graphs with positive and negative vertex weights. We consider two different objective functions: In the first one (MWD) vertices with positive weight are assigned to the closest facility, whereas vertices with negative weight are assigned to the farthest facility. In the second one (WMD) all the vertices are assigned to the nearest facility. For the MWD model it is shown that there exists a finite set of points in the graph which contains the locations of facilities in an optimal solution. Furthermore, algorithms for both models for the 2-median problem on a cycle are developed. The algorithm for the MWD model runs in linear time, whereas the algorithm for the WMD model has a time complexity of  O(n²)\mathcal{O}(n^{2}) .     

Sustainable consumption and third-party certification labels: Consumers’ perceptions and reactions

Compared with conventional products, sustainable products continue to attract relatively lower market shares. To increase customer acceptance, many sustainable products feature third-party certification labels (TPCL), yet it is unclear whether TPCL are effective and what processes and boundary conditions define their role in consumer decision making. Across three experimental studies, this research determines that sustainable products are characterized by credence qualities, associated with increased perceptions of risk, which negatively influence consumers' purchase intentions. Drawing on signaling theory, this study also shows that TPCL on sustainable products provide brand-like information cues that reduce the perceived risk of sustainable products. Finally, a third experimental study demonstrates that consumers must perceive TPCL as credible for them to reduce consumers’ risk perceptions.     

Naïveté and Cynicism in Negotiations and Other Competitive Contexts

A wealth of literature documents how the common failure to think about the self-interests of others contributes to suboptimal outcomes. Yet sometimes, an excess of cynicism appears to lead us to over-think the actions of others and make negative attributions about their motivations without sufficient cause. In the process, we may miss opportunities that greater trust might capture. We review the research on when people expect too little or too much self-interest in the intentions of others, as contrasted with rational behavior. We also discuss the antecedents and consequences of these naïve and cynical errors, as well as some potential strategies to buffer against their effects and achieve better outcomes in competitive contexts.     

12 HRM and Distributed Work

Abstract

The phenomenon of managing work that is distributed over geographical distance is not new but is increasing in both frequency and intentionality as a function of globalization and knowledge-centric strategies. I review the literature on geographically distributed work, both that which highlights liabilities of loss of proximity and more recent research that emphasizes “virtual teams” as an intentional organizing device. I explore the adaptations, remedies, and countervailing strategies deployed to support such teams, contrasting those that minimize distance with those that increase individual and group capacity for coping with distance. I also emphasize that other dimensions of distance—cultural, administrative, and economic—affect the organization of work, the experiences of those doing the work, and individual and organizational outcomes. Here I highlight the “blended workforce” in which standard (traditional employees) and nonstandard (temporary and contract) workers are organized to accomplish interdependent tasks—and again contrast problems of distance with emergent adaptations. Finally, I explore the implications for human resource management (HRM), first considering which HR systems are best suited to work distributed over different types of distance, and then reviewing literature on specific HR practices—selection, training, task/job design, compensation, and performance appraisal. I close by arguing that HRM research must reach beyond its past focus on managing employees within a single firm over a prolonged career under collocated conditions. As the world generates countless new distance-related phenomena, our research must tackle the challenges of managing both standard and non-standard workers engaged in interdependent tasks of limited duration across multiple employers/clients and involving multiple dimensions of distance.     

6 Structure,Affect and Identity as Bases of Organizational Competition and Cooperation

Abstract

Competing organizations are often defined by their niche overlap or structural equivalence in resource dependence, but the very structure that defines competitors can also identify cooperators. There is a fine line between competition and cooperation, but current theories give insufficient guidance as to which will take place and also contribute to the belief that cooperation between competitors is illegitimate. We show that the legitimacy of these practices, as well the evaluation of their welfare implications, are context bound. Individuals and societies that have been influenced by different theories of competition could reasonably (and have) reach different conclusions as to the legitimacy of competitor cooperation. We then critique extant ideas as to when competitors will cooperate, which rely on industry structure, and suggest instead that perception and social identity are more important in tipping the cooperate–compete balance. We conclude by showing how our arguments inform an important current stream of management research, on the process of institutional change.     

Does the internet change how we die and mourn? Overview and analysis

The article outlines the issues that the internet presents to death studies. Part 1 describes a range of online practices that may affect dying, the funeral, grief and memorialization, inheritance and archaeology; it also summarizes the kinds of research that have been done in these fields. Part 2 argues that these new online practices have implications for, and may be illuminated by, key concepts in death studies: the sequestration (or separation from everyday life) of death and dying, disenfranchisement of grief, private grief, social death, illness and grief narratives, continuing bonds with the dead, and the presence of the dead in society. In particular, social network sites can bring dying and grieving out of both the private and public realms and into the everyday life of social networks beyond the immediate family, and provide an audience for once private communications with the dead.     

Does shared and differentiated transformational leadership predict followers' working conditions and well-being?

Transformational leadership has been widely researched and is associated with followers' performance, attitudes, and subjective well-being at the individual level. Less research has focused on transformational leadership as a group phenomenon. In a survey study (425 followers and 56 leaders), we examined how group-level and differentiated transformational leadership shape followers' perceptions of their working conditions and individual subjective well-being. There was stronger evidence that differentiated transformational leadership's relationships with indicators of well-being was mediated by perceptions of working conditions, in that 10 out of 20 tests for mediation using differentiated transformational leadership were significant, compared to just three out of 20 for group-level transformational leadership. The results suggest that transformational leadership needs to be studied as a group phenomenon considering how group-level perceptions may impact on followers' well-being and that leaders need to realize that there is an “I” in groups and addition to a “we” in groups.     

The state and the macro-industrial economy—The use and abuse of offset

State intervention to establish, develop and retain particular industrial sectors in the world economy is widespread, often stimulated by the perceived threat to sovereignty posed by foreign based macro-industrial enterprises. The paper examines a particular form of such intervention, known as offset, which is widely used in major purchases of aerospace products. In this the State, in consideration of such a purchase from a foreign based company, requires that a proportion of the contract value be placed as work in its own related manufacturing sector. Current examples of how widespread and complex these have become are given and analysed by reference to a matrix of possible types of offset and levels of industrial development of the purchasing State. On the assumption that the efficient diffusion of appropriate industrial capabilities to all nations of the world is a desirable goal, the use and abuse of offset to this end is discussed and conclusions drawn.     

are near nectariferous tissue and

创造性思维和创新能力是当今领导者立于不败之地的重要素质之一,领导者的创造性思维决定他的创新能力和行为方式。创造性思维是一种具有开创意义的思维活动,即开拓人类认识新领域、创造人类认识新成果的思维活动,它往往表现为形成新观念、提出新方案、创建新理论、发明新技术等