The Effects of Diversity on Small Work Group Processes and Performance

Diversity is an increasingly important factor inorganizational life as organizations worldwide becomemore diverse in terms of the gender, race, ethnicity,age, national origin, and other personal characteristics of their members. The exact impact ofwithin-group diversity on small group processes andperformance is unclear. Sometimes the effect ofdiversity seems positive, at other times negative, andin other situations, there seems to be no effect at all.In this article, we suggest that these types of findingsmight be explained by using agroup-development model to examine theimpact of diversity on group processes and performance. Our modeluses concepts from Jackson et al.'s (1995), Milliken andMartins' (1996), and other models, as well as our ownconcepts, to show how diversity affects group development and performance. Among the conceptsincluded in the model are readily detectable personalattributes, underlying personal attributes, cognitiveparadigm dissimilarity, cognitive costs and rewards, diversity management skills, group behavioralintegration, and cognitive performance resources. In thepages that follow, we will explain each of thecomponents of the model and suggest specific hypotheses generated from the model.     

Are We Playing the Same Game?: Publishing Task Environments and Research Productivity Among Management Specialists

Archival data on over 15,000 contributors to 33management journals are used to examine productivitydifferences among scholars in different areas ofmanagement. The results suggest that a fragmentedpublication network offers specialists from different areasdissimilar publication opportunities and experiences,and may contribute to varying levels of publicationproductivity among authors. The implications of our results for future research and facultyevaluation processes are explored.     

Disconnections and exclusions: professionalization,cosmopolitanism and (global?) civil society

In this article, we address the ways in which theories and practices of cosmopolitanism and professionalization intersect in the sphere of global civil society. We emphasize the experiences of grassroots development activists, arguing that although they have so far been pivotal to the legitimacy of these spaces and discourses, such activists are increasingly absent from the practices of global civic spaces. We explore this process of change over time using the example of grassroots health promoters in Peru, explaining it in terms of the articulation of neoliberal processes of professionalization with a particularly neoliberal version of cosmopolitanism. We argue that the two are mutually reinforcing and produce a particularly narrow, and arguably less cosmopolitan, rendition of global civil society, with implications for the possibility of building critical and transformative encounters across difference as a foundation for more equitable ideas and practices of development and democracy.     

Mastery, Frequency, and Interaction of Managerial Behaviors Relative to Subunit Effectiveness

The relationships among mastery and frequency ofmanagerial behaviors, and subunit effectiveness havefrequently been confused. This study investigates bothmain and interactive effects. The results show that the interaction effect can often be thestrongest effect and that increasing frequency withoutimproving mastery can sometimes be detrimental.Furthermore, these results offer a possible explanation as to why research of managerial behavior hasbeen so inconclusive. In addition, the results questionpopular advice given often to managers. Finally, somerecommendations are made as to how management development could be made more effective basedon the results of this study.     

DYNAMIC INTERACTION OF PRICE AND DESIGN QUALITY FOR PRODUCTS WITH CONVEX PRODUCTION COSTS

Price and design quality define value for customers and are often used by firms to position products in the marketplace. Setting price and quality level on a new product for the first time and making appropriate changes over time to these variables to reflect changing conditions in the market requires careful coordination of design, manufacturing, and marketing variables. We present a control theoretic model to study the complex interaction among price, quality, and cost during the life cycle of a product. Our model considers the major design-manufacturing-marketing tradeoffs and helps determine optimal pricing, design quality, and production strategies in a dynamic environment with convex production costs.     

Migration,development and inequality: Eastern Punjabi transnationalism

Abstract Drawing on original, ethnographic research in India and the UK, in this article we discuss the impact of transnational activity on the Doaba region of East Punjab, India. We argue that some recent studies have underplayed some of the less progressive consequences of Indian transnationalism. In particular, we contend that they have underestimated the extent of division between transnational migrants and Indian non‐migrants and downplayed the relationship between transnationalism and caste inequality. This empirical study of transnationalism, when placed in the context of the dynamic caste relations of East Punjab, supports those who contend that access to international migration is becoming an increasingly significant component of contemporary global social stratification, with the ‘broad’ transnational processes of capitalist globalization driving the ‘narrow’ transnationalism studied here. In this article, we question any straightforwardly progressive relationship between transnationalism and ‘development’ within East Punjab, and suggest that the arguments presented have a resonance beyond northwest India.     

A THREE-PHASE APPROACH TO INSTILLING A CONTINUOUS LEARNING CULTURE IN MANUFACTURING EDUCATION AND TRAINING

We describe a “learn-by-doing” approach that involves the following three phases designed in part to integrate management and engineering curricula and instill a continuous learning philosophy: (1) involve cross-functional teams as “process and business owners” in a replica of a real-life manufacturing/design problem (Do), (2) require teams to not only learn by doing but to then apply or implement what they have learned in phase 1 (Apply), and (3) share best practices and knowledge gained with subsequent participants (Document). These last two phases are essential and potentially the most valuable but are often ignored in the learning process. They can be accomplished either manually or through the use of an electronic bookshelf (e.g., company or school intranet), which is a database system used to collect and store templates of best practices, collective wisdom, and related information associated with learning and operational activities. We describe two of several educational packages we have developed and discuss their impact on our teaching, our students, and practitioners.     

Transnational social capital: the socio‐spatialities of civil society

Civil society remains a contested concept, but one that is widely embedded in global development processes. Transnationalism within civil society scholarship is often described dichotomously, either through hierarchical dependency relations or as a more amorphous networked global civil society. These two contrasting spatial imaginaries produce very particular ideas about how transnational relations contribute to civil society. Drawing on empirical material from research with civil society organizations in Barbados and Grenada, in this article I contend that civil society groups use forms of transnational social capital in their work. This does not, however, resonate with the horizontal relations associated with grassroots globalization or vertical chains of dependence. These social relations are imbued with power and agency and are entangled in situated historical, geographical and personal contexts. I conclude that the diverse transnational social relations that are part of civil society activity offer hope and possibilities for continued civil society action in these unexpected spatial arrangements.     

Transnational Islamic charity as everyday rituals

In this article, through a case study of transnational Islamic charity, we explore the intersection between migrant development engagements and religious practices. While migrant engagement in development is well known, the intersections of these with everyday religious practices are less so. We use the prism of ‘everyday rituals', understood as human actions that connect ideals with practices. Everyday rituals not only express but also reinforce ideals, in this case those of Islamic charity in a context of sustained migrant transnationalism. The article draws on 35 interviews about Islamic charity, transnationalism and development with practising Muslims of Pakistani origin in Oslo, Norway. We argue that everyday rituals are a useful tool for exploring the role of religion in motivating migrant development engagements. This is because they include transcendental perspectives, bridge ideals and practices that connect the contemporary to the hereafter, encompass transnational perspectives, and are attentive to the ‘here’ and ‘there’ spatially in migrants’ lives.     

‘Shades of grey’: the World Bank,knowledge networks and linked ecologies of academic engagement

The Global Development Network (GDN) and the Researchers Alliance for Development (RAD) are networks linking the professional ecology of the World Bank to the diverse research ecologies of universities and think‐tanks. These ‘knowledge networks’ can entangle research environments extensively with policy communities and the institutional interests of powerful organizations. Connecting different professional ecologies via networks creates complex sets of relationships between researchers and policy makers. The ‘grey areas’ of professional overlap highlight the ‘co‐production’ of (social) science in development policy. The author based her analysis of the dual dynamics of network autonomy and co‐option on participant observation of GDN and RAD as a past member of the governing bodies of both networks.