Objectives, missions and performance measures in multinationals

This article examines performance evaluation systems of fifteen multinationals — five German, five UK and five US — and how they relate to corporate strategy or mission statements in each case. The technique of analysis used is the multilayered case study approach, and includes ‘face-to-face’ interviews.The results, by authors Jeffrey Coates, Edward Davis, Stephen Longden, Raymond Stacey (Aston University) and Clive Emmanuel (University of Glasgow), are very instructive. The cases show a consistent use of missions/strategies, objectives and performance measures within the companies, but wide variation between them. Detailed tables are presented which show clearly the range of variation between the companies and countries concerned.     

It's all about me: The role of narcissism in exacerbating the relationship between stressors and counterproductive work behaviour

Although studies have found that personality variables moderate the relationship between stressors and counterproductive work behaviour, few have examined the role of narcissism and those that did have found inconsistent results. Using a sample of 515 United States employees, we found that narcissism moderated the relationships between interpersonal conflict at work and counterproductive work behaviours directed at others, and between organizational constraints and counterproductive work behaviours directed at the organization, making both relationships stronger for those high on narcissism. We also found that narcissism moderated the relationship between organizational constraints and counterproductive work behaviours directed at others. Further, we demonstrated that the grandiose exhibitionism facet of narcissism moderated these same stressor–counterproductive work behaviours relationships, whereas the facets of leadership/authority and entitlement/exploitiveness did not. Our study indicates that organizational scholars should examine narcissism as an important antecedent of work behaviour, and that research needs to consider potential differential prediction by each of its facets.     

Toward a Greater Understanding of the Cohabitation Effect: Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Communication

The goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between premarital cohabitation experience and marital communication in an effort to understand the robust finding known as the cohabitation effect, whereby couples who cohabit before marriage have greater marital instability than couples who do not cohabit. Observed marital problem solving and social support behavior were examined as a function of premarital cohabitation experience in a sample of 92 couples in the first 2 years of their first marriages. Spouses who cohabited before marriage demonstrated more negative and less positive problem solving and support behaviors compared to spouses who did not cohabit. Sociodemographic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal functioning variables did not account for the association between cohabitation experience and marital communication.     

Disrupting an imposed racial identity or performing the model minority? The pursuit of postsecondary education by young African immigrant men in Southern Ontario,Canada

ABSTRACT

This article examines how young African immigrant men in Southern Ontario cope with the dominant racial identity at school in an effort to improve their academic performance and access postsecondary education (PSE). Critical race theory in education is employed to explain how the young men distance themselves from stereotypes about Black masculinity by regulating their own behaviour and differentiating themselves from their Caribbean immigrant peers. Sixty-seven young men who had immigrated to Southern Ontario from several African countries over the last 10 years were interviewed individually and in focus groups for the study. The findings suggest that the research participants adopted a model minority status within an educational system that clearly embodies racist and systemically oppressive frameworks.     

Sex Ed in Higher Ed: Should We Say Yes to “Affirmative Consent?”

In this essay, the author explores the concept of “affirmative consent” as a sociolegal strategy for reducing sexual violence on college campuses. Meanings and implications of “consent” are considered from a psychoanalytic perspective, using the work of Laplanche and relational psychoanalysis to consider the fit between the construct of consent as it is invoked in contemporary sexual politics and our psychoanalytic understandings of sexual experience. The discourse of consent is also explored from the standpoint of queer and feminist theory. Finally, a brief clinical vignette is offered to illuminate the real challenges that are encountered in the effort to use language to communicate about sex. The author suggests an interdisciplinary, nonregulatory, exploratory approach to addressing the problem of sex and sexual violence on college campuses.     

Working mothers’ emotional exhaustion from work and care: The role of core self-evaluations,mental health,and control

This research examined the direct and indirect relationships between core self-evaluations (via mental health) and emotional exhaustion originating from both the work and caregiving domains. The extent to which these relationships were moderated by control over work and care also was examined. Data came from 142 employed mothers in Australia who completed surveys at three measurement points each separated by four weeks. Results showed that core self-evaluations related positively to mental health which, in turn, related negatively to emotional exhaustion originating from work, but only when work control was high. Moreover, core self-evaluations related negatively to emotional exhaustion originating from care through improvements in mental health, but care control did not moderate this relationship. Overall, these findings contribute to a better understanding of how working mothers’ personal and work resources mitigate emotional exhaustion.     

Step-Up: Promoting Youth Mental Health and Development in Inner-City High Schools

African American and Latino youth who reside in inner-city communities are at heightened risk for compromised mental health, as their neighborhoods are too often associated with serious stressors, including elevated rates of poverty, substance abuse, community violence, as well as scarce youth-supportive resources, and mental health care options. Many aspects of disadvantaged urban contexts have the potential to thwart successful youth development. Adolescents with elevated mental health needs may experience impaired judgment, poor problem-solving skills, and conflictual interpersonal relationships, resulting in unsafe sexual behavior and drug use. However, mental health services are frequently avoided by urban adolescents who could gain substantial benefit from care. Thus, the development of culturally sensitive, contextually relevant and effective services for urban, low-income African American and Latino adolescents is critical. Given the complexity of the mental health and social needs of urban youth, novel approaches to service delivery may need to consider individual (i.e., motivation to succeed in the future), family (i.e., adult support within and outside of the family), and community-level (i.e., work and school opportunities) clinical components. Step-Up, a high school-based mental health service delivery model has been developed to bolster key family, youth and school processes related to youth mental health and positive youth development. Step-Up (1) intervenes with urban minority adolescents across inner-city ecological domains; (2) addresses multiple levels (school, family and community) in order to target youth mental health difficulties; and (3) provides opportunities for increasing youth social problem-solving and life skills. Further, Step-Up integrates existing theory-driven, evidence-based interventions. This article describes Step-Up clinical goals, theoretical influences, as well as components and key features, and presents preliminary data on youth engagement for two cohorts of students.     

Policing “the Risky”: Technology and Surveillance in Everyday Patrol Work

While numerous surveillance and policing scholars argue that the rise of the surveillance society has normalized technological surveillance by police, the lack of empirical research makes it difficult to discern the true impact of risk management, security, and surveillance on police work. The present study uses in‐depth interviews and participant observation with two Canadian police agencies to explore the impact that police technologies have on police‐public interaction. From this analysis, we argue that the organizational shift toward risk‐oriented, intelligence‐led policing is not carried out on the ground. Instead, patrol officers often utilize technologies to legitimize the policing of the “usual suspects.”