Human capacity development in Indonesia: leadership and managerial ideology in Javanese organizations

Abstract

In this paper, leadership is viewed as a driver for change, showing directions towards a society with high adaptive capacity. This study, in particular, investigates whether the eight ancient principles of Javanese statesmanship (Asta Brata) can be employed as change agents for analysing managerial leadership excellence in Javanese organizations. Factor analysis, regression modelling and structural modelling are used to explain what constitutes leadership excellence in Javanese organizations. These findings based on the perceptions of 312 Javanese managers suggest they favour a paternalistic leadership style that is nurturing but not authoritative. This then calls for institutions that stimulate progressive leadership and entrepreneurial leadership as necessary but not sufficient until tempered with personal quality factors such as trustworthiness, dependable and discerning behaviours, patience and decisive action and acknowledgement of environmental influence.     

An Exploration of Managerial Views on Positioning Services in Ghana

ABSTRACT

The paper constitutes an analysis of the views of managers of service firms on positioning strategies in Ghana. The research employed a qualitative research method. Data were collected from 21 service managers and analyzed using content analysis procedures. The results indicate that for service managers, the perceived dominant positioning strategies of their organizations were: service quality, customer relationship, innovation, availability of service, community support, and leading organization, among others. The findings suggest that the dominant managerial views of Ghanaian service managers form a ‘hybrid’ of those of the Western manager. This research is important in clarifying this position. Additionally, as an exploratory piece, the study provides bases for further research on a topic in Ghana with a rather scant evidence of research.     

Ignoring Your Best Customer?

Abstract

Many organizations devote considerable amounts of money and human resources to develop systems aimed at improving customer retention and profitability. The conventional wisdom is that if retaining the most profitable customers is a good way to increase profitability, then allocating resources to increase the satisfaction of those customers has to be a great objective. However, managers do not observe clear link between satisfaction, retention and profitability. The reason is that different customers have different preferences for convenience as well as different costs associated with switching service providers. These preference and cost heterogeneities have important implications for how companies should target their customer service efforts.

In this paper, we adopt a latent class model to examine the interrelationship amongsatisfaction, retention and profitability. Applying the model to a data of customer satisfaction, self-reported switching propensity, and profitability provided to us by a large Midwestern bank, we make normative statements about which customers are the most criticalones for the company to satisfy and how to satisfy them. The results of this research help to explain why managers have been frustrated by the apparent lack of actionable information present in customer satisfaction data and points to more intelligent ways to use this data.     

People-Oriented Marketing Managers in Service Organizations

Abstract

This paper explores the role of people-oriented marketing managers in service organizations. In particular, the interaction variables between organizational behavior of managers and organizational design issues are analyzed. Variables addressed include the following: centralization, decentralization, bureaucracy, matrix management, open environment, individuality, people as resource, unification of people, handling people problems, democratic methods, development of people, and importance of people.     

Employee involvement in ideation and healthcare service innovation quality

ABSTRACT

This study hypothesizes and empirically tests the influence of involvement of (1) frontline employees and (2) top managers in ideation process on healthcare service innovation quality. Based on data from 168 service innovation projects in Dutch healthcare organizations, the empirical results indicate that frontline employee involvement and top management involvement in, respectively, idea generation and idea application both improve the quality of healthcare service innovation. We find that the positive effect of frontline employee involvement is stronger under the condition of higher service innovativeness. In the direct relationship of top management involvement and healthcare service innovation quality, our data do not show such a moderating effect. The key and general managerial implication of the findings is that healthcare organizations are inspired to involve frontline employees in the idea generation processes and involve top managers in the idea application processes of service innovation projects, in order to improve innovation quality.     

Hoping to Enhance a Local Funding Relationship: Exploring Private Sector Business Preferences When Contributing to Nonprofit Organizations

ABSTRACT

Nonprofit organizations want relationships with private sector businesses because nonprofits rely on fundraising to generate income, a portion of which is provided through the charitable giving of the private sector. Who the private sector contributes to, why they give, and what variables positively influence more giving, are all questions nonprofit organizations continuously want answers to. The answers though are often arbitrary, reflecting subjective criteria based on individual business preferences, the economic status of the marketplace, the community context, and the credibility of the nonprofit program. Because the relationship is dynamic and the answers may continue to change, nonprofits must continue to ask.

This article discusses an exploratory effort to identify the funding attitudes and behaviors of private sector businesses who contribute to their local nonprofit organizations.

The results showed the majority of private sector businesses who responded said they support their local nonprofits primarily with cash contributions, and identified altruism as a key motivation for giving. Results also revealed that their funding choices are somewhat arbitrary with little formalized process for decision-making. Dollars are contributed primarily by direction of individual managers or owners who prefer informal relationships with their local nonprofit organizations, but expect funding requests to clearly explain how the dollars will be used. The findings, although limited, provide results that further examine this complex relationship, and perhaps provide insight into how the relationship could be enhanced for the ultimate benefit of both organizations' needs.     

Branding in practice: The profile and role of brand managers in the UK

Marketing as an area of management has come under close scrutiny in recent years and the management of brands, both product and corporate, has been no exception. In particular, the brand manager as the champion of the brand has been under attack, namely, they are too young, inexperienced and focus too much on the short term. Indeed, the entire system of brand management has been questioned in the light of the rapidly changing marketing environment brought about by economic recession, internationalization and changing patterns of distribution. Add to this the growth of corporate branding and it is not difficult to understand the concerns. However, do these concerns reflect the reality?

This paper explores the role and profile of the brand manager through a research survey carried out by the authors. The research examined the age, experience and remuneration package of brand managers and looked at their responsibilities, accountability and planning horizons within marketing departments. The results are discussed in the context of the wider marketing environment and trends towards alternative management systems such as category management and flatter organizational structures. It concludes that many of the criticisms are true but sometimes only in part. For example, brand managers are young and well educated but poorly trained. They manage more brands than they used to but have not widened their span of functional responsibilities to include the newer areas of marketing such as database marketing and trade marketing. They spend a relatively short period of time in one job, have short‐term objectives and are paid in proportion to the size of their advertising and promotion budgets but are nevertheless usually part of a strategy formulation team. The research also indicates that organizations have been slow to adopt new structures, which is resulting in an increasingly fragmented brand management process.     

Marketing Management in Nonprofit Organizations: A Customer Analysis of Church Volunteers

ABSTRACT

Volunteers who work in nonprofit organizations serve an important role in our society, as evidenced by their economic impact. Nonprofit organizations which rely on volunteers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of volunteers to fulfill their missions. Faced with this situation, managers need to become more marketing oriented in their approach of dealing with their volunteers. A manager's first step in becoming more marketing oriented is obtaining a better understanding of the organization's volunteers. This article presents an example of a customer analysis of a specific group of volunteers–church volunteers, to test the efficacy of this approach in better understanding a target group of volunteers. Collecting data from survey respondents, comparisons are made between church volunteers and non-volunteers, between church volunteers and secular volunteers, and between church members who volunteer in their churches and church members who volunteer in secular organizations. The findings support the utility of such a customer analysis in helping a manager develop a more accurate mental model of the organization's volunteers.     

Buyer-Seller Interaction,Capacity Management,and Relationship Marketing

Abstract

This paper provides insight into the dynamic sales processes that occur in the restaurant industry. Its primary purpose is to provide hospitality marketers and managers a framework tor improving overall sales in food and beverage organizations. After outlining this framework for increased restaurant sales, a detailed overview of buyer-seller interaction, relationship marketing, and restaurant management literature is provided to give the reader an understanding of previous Studies.     

International Strategic Alliances

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of an empirical investigation of strategic alliance agreements between UK firms and their European, Japanese and US partners. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on the international strategic alliance activity of UK firms and ascertain the objectives and motives of international strategic alliances. In addition, the perceived performance of the strategic alliance is considered together with the perceived level of satisfaction of a range of alliance activities. The findings should prove to be a useful guideline for researchers and practitioners engaged in understanding international strategic alliances. The analysis should allow managers to examine the important issues in the formation of international strategic alliances and allow them to understand the assessment of performance and satisfaction of the alliances formed.

Key Results: The findings have shown a definite pattern in UK international strategic alliance activity. The results of the study indicate that the majority of UK firms engage in international partnerships for marketing-related activities and are essentially driven by the financial cost and risk of entering a foreign market; access to overseas market and improving market share. The findings have also indicated that the majority of UK managers are satisfied with the overall performance of the international strategic alliance.     

Managerial Judgement in Model Development

Abstract

The following paper discusses the development of a media planning model that utilized econometric methods, academic theory and managerial judgement. Stautamoyer and Lindquist (1994) called for the inclusion of advertising “experts” in the model development process at earlier stages to facilitate model acceptance. Other authors (Stewart and Furse, 1984; Chakravarti, Mitchell and Staelin, 1981; Kover, 1995) have also discussed the lack of relevance of advertising models that have hurt acceptance. The paper outlines the role played by advertising managers and findings on the applicability of academic theory and research in developing a functional media model.     

Important Dimensions in Ocean Freight Services

Abstract

This paper examines the criteria used by organizational buyers in their choice of suppliers of shipping services for ocean freight transport so widely used in international trade. The study was conducted in Singapore which is known for its heavy reliance on international trade as well as for its high ranking container port facilities. Based on a survey of shipping managers in a cross section of business organizations in Singapore, the study identifies important factors in the choice of a shipping line selected on their heaviest used export route for their outgoing goods. It also provides buyers' evaluation of the preferred carrier on the same attributes to examine the performance gaps in the services offered by the line. The findings thus provide a bench mark for the shipping industry and points toward areas of emphasis in the service strategies of the shipping lines.     

The End of Corporate Social Responsibility: Crisis & Critique,by Peter Fleming and Marc T. Jones

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Given the ever-increasing pressure put on sales organizations to improve performance, behave ethically and establish long-term customer relationships, this study seeks to better comprehend ethical leadership’s part in doing so. It proposes that perceived ethical leadership indirectly influences salesperson performance through trust in manager and ethical ambiguity.

Methodology/Approach: A survey of business-to-business salespeople was taken. Hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings: The results show that perceived ethical leadership influences salesperson performance through the mediating roles of trust in manager and ethical ambiguity. Salespeople’s perceptions of their supervisor’s ethical leadership behaviors positively impact their trust in manager and negatively influences their ethical ambiguity. In turn, trust in manager positively influences sales performance while ethical ambiguity negatively influences sales performance.

Research Implications: The results from testing the hypothesized model support mechanisms by which ethical leadership behavior may affect business-to-business salesperson job performance. It appears that ethical leadership works through ethical ambiguity and trust in manager to impact salesperson behavior performance, rather than directly impacting salesperson performance. Importantly the findings add to the literature an important consequence of ethical leadership, ethical ambiguity. This research likewise adds to the literature on role, and more specifically ethical, ambiguity by finding that reducing salesperson ethical ambiguity has a positive impact on salesperson behavior performance.

Practical Implications: This study finds that one important mechanism for reducing ethical ambiguity is for sales supervisors to practice ethical leadership. By reducing ethical ambiguity, sales managers can improve business-to-business salesperson performance. In addition, use of ethical leadership by sales managers can positively influence the business-to-business salesperson’s trust in manager, which subsequently leads to greater sales performance.

Originality/Value/Contribution: The results of this study add to our knowledge of ethical leadership by further developing its consequences. It also sheds light on a vastly under-researched construct, ethical ambiguity. Finally, it further validates the important role that trust in manager plays in the organization.     

Market entry in japan—Some problems and solutions 1

Japan is recognised as a major competitor in world markets but is less well‐known as an attractive market in its own right. This paper proposes that with the right strategies it is possible to successfully penetrate the difficult Japanese market. Problems and opportunities presented by the market are discussed, and some of the findings of a survey of Japanese and German managers in Japan and German‐based managers are reviewed. The paper covers the survey findings on market characteristics, barriers to entry, information requirements, factors contributing to success and methods of market entry. German and UK sources of information and advice on the Japanese market are given for those interested in pursuing the matter further.     

Profiling people’s perceptions of retail management careers

Abstract

Educators are challenged to generate awareness of retail education programs and related career options. A corresponding issue for retailers is the recruitment and retention of career-oriented managers. The issue is complicated by negative attitudes in the general population about retail careers and a lack of awareness about retail career options. This study examines these attitudes through a questionnaire administered to a nation-wide sample of 310. A cluster analysis reveals four groups based on differences in their demographic/psychosocial characteristics and career preferences. The findings provide foci and key messages targeted to the distinct groups upon which retail managers and educators can base discrete career awareness and recruiting strategies.     

Faith in four Ps: An alternative

McCarthy's mnemonic of the four Ps, by offering a seductive sense of simplicity to students, teachers and practitioners of marketing, has become an article of faith. Among the consequences of this have been a lack of empirical study into what are the key marketing variables and how they are perceived and used by marketing managers, a neglect of process in favour of structure and a neglect of product range considerations. What is needed is a form of analysis developed by sociologists that would focus on the process by which managers construct their own interpretations of marketing realities and develop individual styles of management and decision‐taking.     

Customers,marketing and the network organization

Customers are becoming more demanding. Network organizations are emerging which embrace customers, and are more flexible and responsive to their needs. CEO's increasingly regard customers as part of the organization. Customers are too important to be “left” to one or two directors and their divisions. CEO's are requiring everyone to focus upon the requirements of customers. To help achieve this, organizations are seeking ways of linking remuneration and performance assessment to customer satisfaction. Increasingly customers assume reliability and performance. Quality of itself may no longer differentiate alternative suppliers. In markets in which all suppliers have their quality programmes, managers need to consider what lies beyond quality. Reason is no longer enough. Less tangible factors such as feelings, emotions and values need to be understood. CEO's question whether marketing departments can respond to these and other challenges and help facilitate the changes they are seeking.     

Idea Logics and Network Theory in Business Marketing

ABSTRACT

We argue that the model of relationships and networks proposed by the IMP group in terms of actors, activities and resources (AAR), which forms the basis of much IMP research, needs to be extended to incorporate a fourth dimension of relations and networks, namely that of ideas or schemas. These schemas are the way managers make sense of their world and the interactions taking place with other organizations and represent a different kind of dynamical force shaping relationship and network development. We use an extended longitudinal case study to illustrate the role of firms' schemas in shaping the evolution of a business network and consider the research and management implications arising from this additional network dimension.     

The Influence of McClelland's Need Satisfaction Theory on Employee Job Performance

Abstract

As free trade expands and grows in the post-GATT global era, the South African economy will increasingly rely on firms that are able to compete, survive and prosper in the global village. To this end the production factors of these firms, of which human resources are the most important, must be productively utilised and managed. Successful business firms have been linked to the achievement activities of the human resources of these firms.

Despite being a topic of both teaching and research now for almost forty years, uncertainty still exists about McClelland's (1962) assertion that the achievement need (nACH) is a learned need that all people possess. This uncertainty has resulted in the questioning of the motivation and reward strategies of human resource specialists in many firms. Of special importance in the present study is the neglect of achievement motivation of lower-level employees by managers in firms.

By using structural equation modelling the causal influence of the nACH and the other McClelland needs on the performance intentions of managers and frontline employees is assessed in this study. The empiri cal results support the learned need assertion. The findings highlight the disadvantages to firms that disregard the achievement motivation of lower-level employees. The managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Organizational Learning in China: The Role of Returners

ABSTRACT

The Chinese authorities have launched a range of policies and incentives at the national and regional level to attract citizens who have studied and worked abroad to return in order to contribute to upgrading the competitiveness of the Chinese economy, particularly in light of China's entrance to the World Trade Organization. In other words, the returners are expected to stimulate organizational learning in existing organizations and in new companies. This article provides an overview of what has been done to date and points out that simply increasing the number of returners is not enough to achieve organizational learning. Drawing on research findings about the barriers to organizational learning from returned expatriate managers in international companies, the article develops recommendations for government policies, corporate strategies, and Chinese returners.