Impact of Network Position and Knowledge Diversity on Knowledge Creation: The Empirical Setting of Research Communities

We examined the role of network position and knowledge diversity as related to new knowledge creation within a network of 239 academics from business administration departments at four universities. Analyses of their 1,827 publications involving 1,541 coauthors between 1986 and 2008 revealed an inverse U‐shaped relationship between network centrality and knowledge creation. Moreover, knowledge diversity positively moderated the association between centrality and the quality of the knowledge created, but negatively moderated the centrality‐knowledge quantity relationship. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

团队多重任务趋向对个体拖延行为的影响机制研究

组织中的成员常常会出现“明日复明日”这一现象,这种拖延行为显然不利于组织的快速发展。从团队层面特征出发,分析了团队多重任务趋向对成员拖延行为的影响及其作用机制。通过对安徽省内来自76个工作团队的231名成员进行问卷调查,结果发现,团队多重任务趋向显著增加了拖延行为,角色过载在该过程中起到了中介作用。此外,团队自主性能够负向调节团队多重任务趋向对角色过载的影响,进而削弱整个中介作用的过程。     

The Cognitive Consumer Education Knowledge of Prospective Teachers: A National Assessment

A nationwide assessment of the cognitive consumer education knowledge of prospective teachers being trained for all academic disciplines included 84 institutions of higher education and provided usable data on 4,309 respondents. The sample scored less than sixty percent correct on the Test of Consumer Competencies. Prospective teachers were most knowledgeable in the areas of Recreation, Clothing, and The Individual in the Marketplace; they scored lowest in the areas of Taxes, Food, and Savings and Investment. Those majoring in Social Studies, History or Geography, Science, and Home Economics scored highest on the average while those majoring in Physical Education, Art and Music, and Special Education scored lowest. The prospective teachers who had completed a consumer education related course, approximately twelve percent of the total, scored higher than those who had not.     

De-Fusing Organizational Power Using Anonymity and Cognitive Factions in a Participative Strategic Planning Setting

When an organization is facing disruptive change or the need for new capabilities to fit new conditions, the creation of a democratic strategic plan can be useful. However, strategic plans typically only reflect the beliefs and values of their architects; not all stakeholders. To include the beliefs of all stakeholders requires a participative environment. Due to the potential deleterious effects that organizational power may have in a participative setting, anonymity and cognitive factions is proposed to reduce the possible negative effects associated with power in a participative strategic planning setting. Group support systems have been shown to protect relationships and retain the social order in these settings. In this specific case, through the use of a group support system that supports anonymity and cognitive faction identification, we found that the sources of power typically found and used to drive group decisions in an academic setting did not drive the content of the strategic plan.     

Individual pay for performance in Spain: Cognitive sociology and the subsidiary insider perspective

This article examines how individual pay for performance is interpreted, predominantly by nonmanagerial employees, within the European context, at three subsidiaries of one U.S. multinational corporation in Spain. The study reveals how two levels of the cognitive socialization process color the lens through which employees view pay for performance and reveals how subsidiary founding, politics of resistance, and host‐country effects impact the implementation of the practice. Contrary to past studies in the literature, the study discovered a large number of nonmanagerial employees with a positive interpretation of pay for performance due to the influence of pre‐existing organizational cultural experiences. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Aggregating Incomplete Individual Ratings in Group Resource Allocation Decisions

This paper addresses a decision to be made by a group of evaluators as to how to allocate a pool of monetary resources to a set of candidates. The group decision is an aggregation of the individual allocation recommendations by the evaluators. Evaluators may also be candidates to receive allocations and not allowed to vote a recommendation for themselves. Further, evaluators can elect to exclude some candidates from their evaluations because they do not believe they are qualified to judge some candidates. Two models are presented for aggregation of individual evaluations using the mean and median, respectively, as the basis for the group consensus. In circumstances where some evaluators do not recommend allocations for all candidates, the calculation of the mean recommendations requires the solution of a system of linear equations and the calculation of the median recommendations requires an iterative search algorithm. Conditions for existence of a group consensus allocation for each model are described and the strengths and weaknesses of each model are explored. The models can be applied to a variety of different group decisions, including rating of candidates for a job or allocating a budget.     

基于SNS的企业群体知识创新交互研究

群体知识创新是目前知识创新发展的重要方式,SNS为促进知识创新提供了虚拟网络环境。本文介绍了SNS的特点,分析了当前技术环境下群体学习模式的变化以及群体交互学习与企业知识创新的关系,提出了企业群体行为的概念结构,构建了基于SNS的群体学习交互机制。     

个体知识的管理过程与机制研究

企业的竞争优势来源于企业知识,这一点已基本达成共识。企业知识有不同的来源,且不同来源的知识在竞争优势形成过程中的重要性不同。个体知识是企业知识的重要来源,对企业竞争优势起支撑作用。因此,如何更有效地将个体知识转化为企业知识就成为一个重要的研究课题。     

The Nature of Responsibility in a Professional Setting

This paper begins by looking at the complex and dynamic nature of responsibility. Based in the interconnected concepts of imputability, accountability and liability it argues that, whilst some elements of responsibility can be determined through role and contract, the broader sense of liability involves a sense of shared responsibility that is ultimately based in the concept of universal responsibility. Such responsibility requires core virtues, not least awareness and integrity, a continued means of negotiating responsibility and ongoing dialogue between the different responsibilities connected to role. The paper argues that the nature of such dialogue is itself grounded in the development of personal and shared responsibility. It concludes that the professions have a moral leadership role in articulating and modelling that responsibility. This article is a Keynote speech by the author, Prof. Dr. Simon Robinson.     

管理系统认知结构及其知识获取

运用认知科学的方法探讨管理系统具有一定的科学意义,也具有重要的应用前景。一个优秀的管理者会随着千变万化的管理环境变迁,结合自己的知识、经验而采取相应的管理策略,更新并构成新的管理系统的知识结构。     

Exploring Individual Trust Factors in Computer Mediated Group Collaboration: A Case Study Approach

Trust has become more and more important in the context of mixed use of longitudinal face-to-face and computer mediated group collaboration using Group Support System tools. Previous research has investigated trust factors in different dimensions. This paper takes the perspective of individual trust and aims to explore the new trust factors and also their detailed second level trust sub-factors in computer mediated collaboration over time. We have taken the interviews using the student groups during the two year-long collaboration project based case studies. We have validated the previous factors and found seven new trust factors and thirty one sub-factors which are associated with the main factors. Furthermore, based on the new factors, this paper has also designed an innovative trust traffic light model with suggested steps which could be easily used to help analyze the trust factors development over time for future longitudinal studies.     

A Cognitive Three-Process Model of Computer-Mediated Group Interaction

Current theories imply text-based computer networks are socially barren, but computer-mediated interaction (CMI) research contradicts this. A cognitive perspective suggests individuals in groups construct cognitions regarding the task (purpose), other people (relationships), and the group (identity), and these drive the interaction. Three core psychological process follow: resolving task information, relating to others and representing the group. This gives three types of influence: informational, personal and normative, and three group purposes: task resolution, interpersonal relationships and group unity. Group unity occurs when group members represent a common identity. The traditional communication threads of message content and sender context therefore require a third - behavioural position. Many-to-many exchange of member positions allows the group position to be transmitted to the group. A picture emerges of three parallel processes overlapping in behaviour, although CMI allows them to be isolated and investigated. This model extends most theories of computer-mediated group interaction. It implies there is no best type of group interaction support, because there is no best process. The groupware challenge is to offer the flexibility to support all three processes in combination.     

Of Fallacies and Curricula: A Case of Business Ethics

One of the main objectives of the undergraduate business school curriculum is to develop the students' critical thinking and decisionmaking skills. Official documents such as the school's objectives usually state this as part of its social contract. However, university processes sometimes break the most elementary rules of logical reasoning which, in turn, may lead to questionable decisions. This paper discusses the specific case of the mandatory stand-alone business ethics course as an instance of flawed reasoning in curricular processes. Educational institutions model the students' decision making patterns, not only by formal courses but by the example their own decision making processes set. Academicians should be aware of these processes' underlying values and vices. This should lead to better decisions and set a proper example for our students.     

The Benefits of Gainsharing Programs in a Not-for-Profit Setting

ABSTRACT

Times are changing for not-for-profit corporations. Rapid growth of the not-for-profit sector, coupled with corporate downsizing, has created increased competition for funds and volunteers.

Not-for-profit organizations must work “smarter and harder” to keep even with past performance. Organizations desiring growth must become more aggressive.

Gainsharing is a new concept in the not-for-profit sector. The rules for gainsharing are presented and successful approaches for gainsharing plans are identified.     

Individual and Small Group Accuracy in Judging Truthful and Deceptive Communication

We examined accuracy in detecting the truths and lies of 10 videotaped students who offered their opinions on the death penalty or smoking in public. Student lie detectors were randomly assigned to either the individual condition, where they reported their veracity judgments and confidence independently, or the small group condition, where they recorded their judgments privately and then deliberated with 5 other students before making a consensus judgment of lie, truth, or hung. Results indicated that small group judgments were more accurate than individual judgments when judging deceptive but not truthful communication. Small group individuals also reported greater confidence in their abilities after the task. Finally, groups with a greater number of hung judgments were more accurate, likely due to their employing hung judgments for the most difficult to judge stimulus communicators. These results raise implications for real life group judgments, particularly in light of the increasing availability of technology.     

Visual and Interactive Comparative Analysis of Individual Opinions: A Group Decision Support Tool

This study proposes the use of the visual, interactive and comparative analysis (VICA) methodology to encourage consensus-building in decision making processes involving multiple criteria and multiple participants working in cooperative groups. The tool was applied to the Electre TRI (VICA-Electre TRI) method which utilises comparative analyses plus visuals and the interactive exchange of individuals’ opinions within the group. It aims at reducing complexity, presenting updates about each member’s progress in the decision making process and fostering the search for consensus. The methodology was implemented in a spreadsheet format (Microsoft Excel) to make it as accessible as possible while also facilitating its acceptance and efficient use within organizations.     

浅析农业推广活动中农民的群体行为和个体行为

农民作为农业推广的主要对象,其行为状况影响着农业推广目标的实现和农业推广工作的成败。因此,研究农业推广中农民行为的改变,探索其行为改变的动力和阻力,并据此采取相应的策略,促进农业生产具有重要意义。     

Negotiation in Strategy Making Teams: Group Support Systems and the Process of Cognitive Change

This paper reports on the use of a Group Support System (GSS) to explore at a micro level some of the processes manifested when a group is negotiating strategy—processes of social and psychological negotiation. It is based on data from a series of interventions with senior management teams of three operating companies comprising a multi-national organization, and with a joint meeting subsequently involving all of the previous participants. The meetings were concerned with negotiating a new strategy for the global organization. The research involved the analysis of detailed time series data logs that exist as a result of using a GSS that is a reflection of cognitive theory.