The Mechanistic Structure Shift and Strategic Reorientation in Declining Firms Attempting Turnarounds

Past researchers have observed that decliningorganizations often experience mechanistic structuralchanges that centralize authority, increase reliance onformalized procedures, and reduce the amount of information flowing to top managers. Many haveproposed that this “mechanistic shift” indeclining organizations reduces their adaptivecapability by making innovative organizational change in response to decline less likely. However,despite much research on declining firms and theirturnaround attempts, many questions about mechanisticshifts remain, such as: (1) To what extent do declining firms become systematically mechanistic whentrying to recover from decline? (2) What aspects ofdeclining firms' situations make mechanistic shifts morelikely? (3) Do mechanistic shifts reduce the likelihood of large-scale strategic reorientation asdeclining firms attempt to recover? We sought answers tothese questions through an analysis of data fromin-depth interviews with top managers (mostly CEOs) at 29 U.S. firms attempting turnarounds fromdecline. Our primary finding was that mechanisticstructure shifts did restrict firms' abilities to changetheir strategic orientations in response to decline. Highlighting the important role of the contextof turnaround attempts, we further found the averagedeclining firm attempting a turnaround did not becomemore mechanistic, but that turnaround attempts launched from financial crises were significantly morelikely to lead to mechanistic shifts. Also, we foundthat the common practice of replacing the firm's CEOduring turnaround attempts had conflicting andparadoxical effects on firms' abilities to enact strategicreorientations.     

Employee involvement programs: Should unions get involved?

We test the mediated effects of participation in employee involvement (EI) programs on employee desires for union involvement in the future development and diffusion of EI and the perceived durability of an EI program as a possible moderator of these effects. Results indicate that participants developed more positive attitudes toward the EI program than nonparticipants and, in turn, these attitudes were related to higher desires for union involvement in EI. Additionally, volunteers developed more positive attitudes toward the EI program than nonvolunteers and, in turn, these attitudes were related to higher desires for union involvement in EI. However, the relationship between attitudes toward EI and desires for union involvement in EI was significantly less positive for participants who viewed the EI program as durable.     

Managing urban wetlands for multiple use: research,restoration, and recreation

Conservation of urban wetland habitat is challenging, because multiple uses must coexist. We use examples from California and Wisconsin to describe potential synergies among recreation, restoration and research activities (the 3 R's). Allowing passive recreation is often essential to garner public support for habitat protection, restoration, and research. In turn, restoration activities can improve the appearance of degraded sites, and designing the work as a research experiment can serve the scientific community. Two projects at Tijuana Estuary support the 3 R's. (1) Oneonta Tidal Linkage is a 0.7-ha tidal channel and salt marsh that was excavated from disturbed upland to bring wetland habitat closer to the Visitor Center (thereby reducing visitor intrusion into natural marsh habitat, where endangered species would be disturbed). It supports an ambitious field experiment that is testing the importance of species diversity in restoration; it also includes a bridge that serves the interpretive program, and it adds 0.7 ha of wetland habitat that helps restore regional biodiversity. (2) A larger excavation (8 ha) of former tidal wetland will soon add wetland habitat, while testing the importance of tidal creek networks in ecosystem functioning and offering views and interpretive opportunities. A third situation, at the 485-ha University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, concerns restored wet prairies, which provide habitat for native species and serve many hikers. Urban stormwater flows into and degrades the Henry Greene Prairie, allowing aggressive plants to invade. Research and restoration efforts are planned to sustain the habitat and recreation functions. These three models suggest that recreation, restoration, and research are compatible uses of urban wetland habitats.     

Recollections of Jack Michael and the Application of Skinner’s Analysis of Verbal Behavior

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - Jack Michael offered a course on verbal behavior almost every year throughout his teaching career. Jack was also interested in the application of Skinner's...     

Sociology’s Sacred Victims and the Politics of Knowledge: Moral Foundations Theory and Disciplinary Controversies

The field of sociology has long been subject to critique for alleged ideological bias and left-wing groupthink linked to its social justice mission. Critics contend that the construction of “sacred victims” by progressive intellectuals hinders their ability to objectively appraise the circumstances of such vulnerable groups. To address this criticism, we survey 479 sociologists in national universities and colleges in the U.S. regarding three sensitive controversies: urban poverty in the black community; gendered differences in occupational choices; and immigration. We find significant patterns in the data. Commitment to the field’s “moral mission,” preferred research paradigm, gender, and especially political orientation are all significant predictors of sociologists’ views. The results, we suggest, can be understood by conceptualizing the field of sociology as an “emotive community.” In doing so, we draw upon current social psychological research on moral foundations theory developed by Jonathan Haidt and colleagues.     

The Role of Second-Order Belief-Understanding and Social Context in Children's Self-Attribution of Social Emotions

Children's self-attribution of social emotions was hypothesised (i) to be related to their second-order belief-understanding and (ii) to be more strongly related to social- conventional than moral rule violations. Thirty children aged between 4 and 7 years were presented with Sullivan, Zaitchik & Tager-Flusberg's (1994) second-order false belief task and with four hypothetical scenarios in which they were required to imagine that they had violated particular moral and social conventional rules. As predicted, the self-attribution of social emotions was significantly related to second-order belief understanding, primarily in social-conventional rather than moral contexts.     

Use of a conceptual model of societal drivers of ecological change in South Florida: Implications of an ecosystem management scenario

Human-dominated ecosystems such as in South Florida's Everglades region are greatly affected by societal actions and choices, and efforts to restore degraded ecosystems must take into account the societal drivers of ecosystem change. A conceptual model of societal-ecological interactions within the region illustrates connections between major societal drivers, such as water management and land use, and ecological stressors, such as loss of habitat and nutrient loading. Using the conceptual model as an initial guide for discussion, examination of a restoration scenario for the region shows that social and economic effects from activities proposed in a restoration scenario will likely affect most sectors of South Florida. Political effects from changing land and water management practices likely will be significant, as will the physical effects of changing water structures and management practices. Conceptual models such as this can aid in the initial stages of ecosystem restoration discussions and can assist in planning for subsequent social science evaluations of specific societal impacts of actual proposed governmental restoration alternatives. In crafting restoration scenarios, local, regional, and national decision makers can use conceptual models such as this to help broaden the early considerations of how possible future changes in societal drivers, including management choices, will change ecological stressors that affect ecosystem health.     

Does It Cost Less to Live in Rural Areas? Evidence from New Data on Food Security and Hunger*

Abstract Rural‐urban differences in the association of food insecurity and hunger with income suggest that the cost of living is substantially lower in rural than in urban areas. This implies that the official poverty rate overstates rural economic hardship compared with that in urban areas. Geographic differences in cost of living implied by the association between food insecurity and income provide some validation of the cost of housing adjustment proposed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel on improving the measurement of poverty, but suggest that the NAS adjustment generally overcorrects for cost of living and would be seriously problematic in some regions.     

Activating adult allies from a rural community on lesbian,gay, bisexual,transgender, and queer student issues in school using photovoice

Purpose: Many students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) face hostile school environments that can negatively impact their mental health and education. This study involved a photovoice project where high school students from a gay-straight alliance in the rural southeastern United States took photographs that depicted the issues LGBTQ students were facing and then exhibited their photographs and stories to individuals from the school system and local community to promote awareness, dialogue, and action. Methods: Twenty adults who attended the photovoice exhibit responded to an online survey about their experiences with the intervention. Results: Eighty-five percent of adults reported that the intervention made them think about issues they had not previously considered, including the struggles LGBTQ youths face, gender issues, and living in a rural community. Common emotions experienced at the intervention included feeling excited, concern for the youths, and proud of the youths. Furthermore, 81% of the adults indicated that they would take action or behave differently as a result of the intervention, including supporting and affirming LGBTQ students, using gender-neutral and -inclusive language, and confronting bias in themselves and others. Conclusions: Photovoice is a promising strategy for LGBTQ students to activate adult allies in their community.