Defining Expertise in Software Development While Doing Gender

The optimism regarding opportunities for women to enter the professionalization process in software development during the past years has not been fully realized and the gender gap in Germany's information technology (IT) sector still persists. Women are almost completely unrepresented in the technical fields of the German software industry, particularly in small enterprises. In this article, I firstly offer an overview of the German IT sector's development and current status. Secondly, I discuss the construction of expertise and gendered meanings in the practice of software development and related implications for the enrolment of women in this field. Gender stereotypical assumptions about expertise in the practice of software development and structural factors related to the lack of life–work balance programmes, as well as the lack of internal training in most IT companies, contribute to organizational segregation     

Group Incentives and Performance: A Study of Spontaneous Goal Setting, Goal Choice and Commitment

Building on previous results at the individual level, this study tested the differential effects of three forms of group incentives on aspects of group goal setting, and group performance. Relationships among group incentives, spontaneous goal setting, chosen group goal level, goal commitment, and group performance were examined. Results indicate that placing pay at risk increased the level of spontaneous group goal setting. Also, groups with the most pay at risk chose higher goals. For these groups, chosen group goal level mediated the group incentives-group performance relationship.     

Responsibilities and roles of boards in nonprofit organizations: The Israeli case

In this study, nine roles and responsibilities of boards of directors in nonprofit organizations in Israel are examined and perceptions of these roles and responsibilities by chairpersons of the boards and the executive directors are compared. Four groupings of board roles were found: senior human resource management, maintenance of relationships with the task environment, policymaking, and fiscal management and fundraising. The findings show that in most organizations boards fulfill all these roles and play a significant role in decision making. A significant consensus exists between chairpersons and executive directors in respect to most of the boards' roles, whereas significant differences in perceptions were found in respect to financial matters and maintenance of relationships with the task environment.     

Building the Complementary Board. The Work of the Plc Chairman

This article addresses the critical issue of board effectiveness, and in particular the conditions under which chairmen as well as other non-executives can make an effective and positive contribution to the strategic direction and control of companies. It is informed by qualitative interview-based research with chairmen, chief executives and non-executive directors in major UK companies which focused on the now typically separate role and work of the company chairman. The article argues that in the governance debate too much attention has been given to issues of board structure and composition to the neglect of issues related to the knowledge and motives of individual non-executives, and how their energies are combined in processes of board accountability. Drawing upon directors’ experiences, the article examines the bases that underpin and the positive potential of what are termed ‘complementary’ board relationships, through which a chairman can contribute directly to the performance of the chief executive, as well as create the conditions for other non-executives to contribute to the performance of the executive team. The article also explores the negative dynamics of what are termed ‘complimentary’ relationships between executives and non-executive directors and how these sometimes inadvertently come to weaken board accountability and create the conditions for an external crisis of confidence.     

Recruitment on the Net: How Do Organizational Web Site Characteristics Influence Applicant Attraction?

The use of organizational web sites for recruitment has become increasingly common. Despite their widespread growth, however, little is known about how these web sites influence recruitment outcomes. In the current paper, we present a model that explicates how job seekers interact with and respond to web site characteristics to predict various job seeker attitudes and behaviors. We suggest that job seekers are initially affected by the facade of a web site, comprised of the web site’s aesthetic and playfulness features. Coupled with system features of the web site, these initial affective reactions then influence perceptions of the usability of the web site. Perceptions of usability and affective reactions work through two key mediating constructs, job seeker search behavior and web site attitude, to ultimately predict applicant attraction. Throughout the paper we present a series of testable propositions that should serve to guide future research.     

Career Guidance in Singapore Schools

Career guidance in Singapore schools went through 3 stages of development. The focus in the 1st stage was on information‐giving. A curriculum approach was adopted in the 2nd stage when career education became part and parcel of the school curriculum. The 3rd stage saw the integration of career guidance with information technology and the shift of the role of the career teachers from “expert” to “facilitator.” To meet the challenges of the new millennium, there is a need to train professional career counselors, develop indigenous resource materials, and promote a new concept of career development among students.