Repatriation and short-term assignments: an exploration into expectations,change and dilemmas

The aim of this research was to use in-depth interviews and discourse analysis to explore talk about repatriation expectations by 22 participants who were currently on, or had recently completed a short-term assignment within a single MNC. This study is one of the first to focus specifically on repatriation connected to short-term assignments and present findings that stem solely from the expatriates' perspective. Through discourse analysis, this paper outlines a framework with which to understand the relevance and meaning of individual change associated with career-based expectations of repatriation. For some of the participants, expectations of short-term assignment repatriation meant a desired change in work based on perceptions of themselves as changed as a result of their experience. For others, expectations of consistency as opposed to change between pre-and post-assignment work roles emerged through discourses of resistance. These findings raise a number of distinctively novel HR challenges.     

Using Data Mining to Evaluate Patient-oriented Medical Services for Chronic Senility Outpatients

The problem with previous research of health care service were failed to isolate the study objects. Therefore, the purpose of this study is using data mining to analysis disease clusters of chronic senility to enhance quality of health care service. This study used cluster and association analysis of data mining to analyze the health insurance data of outpatients suffering from chronic senility in a hospital in Taiwan, over the period from January to December 2002 (N = 5836). According to analysis of revisit frequency, and disease correlation, the patients were grouped into different clusters, after which expert interviews discovered target clusters with abnormal numbers of revisits. This information was assist planning service strategy for difference groups of patients. Through analysis, two target clusters were isolated, Clusters 4 and 7. Cluster 4 (n=114), had excessive return visit times, and had 13 chronic diseases on average, with 27.2 revisits per year. Cluster 7 (n = 426), had in frequent return visits, and had 4 chronic diseases on average, with 2.68 return visit times per year. After expert interviews, the goal for Cluster 4 was to effectively control chronic diseases, to enhance the patient health and to raise satisfaction levels. The goal of Cluster 7 was to promote patient loyalty.     

How project management office leaders facilitate cross‐project learning and continuous improvement

The purpose of this study is to shed light on how project management office (PMO) leaders facilitate cross‐project learning and continuous improvement. Twenty leaders of PMOs were interviewed; findings were validated by two focus groups. The research reveals that PMO leaders facilitate cross‐project improvement by embedding accumulated knowledge from past project experiences into project management routines that are utilized across multiple projects. The research also points to the phenomenon of “red light learning,” where lessons learned sessions can be enculturated as punitive, undermining individual and organizational learning. Recommendations focus on enhancing the social capital of the PMO leader and improving the quality and quantity of reflective practice over the course of the project life cycle.     

Controlling the Urban Fabric: The Complex Game of Distance and Proximity in European Upper‐Middle‐Class Residential Strategies

This article presents an open discussion of the processes of urban secession and gentrification in contemporary European cities, arguing that intergroup social dynamics in urban spaces are generally more complex than either extreme mutual avoidance or the colonization of neighbourhoods by the wealthiest groups. We analyse the residential strategies of urban upper‐middle class managers in various European metropolitan areas through in‐depth semi‐structured interviews to argue that these groups develop complex strategies of proximity and distance in relation to other social groups. The development of these ‘partial exit’ strategies takes place through specific combinations of practices that allow groups to select the dimensions they are willing to share with other social groups, and those in which they prefer a more segregated social environment for themselves and their families. The responses of our interviewees were consistently more nuanced and complex than suggested by a simplistic theory about their drive to withdraw from society, forcing us to develop more sophisticated conceptual frameworks to account for the growing prevalence of multi‐layered identities and spheres of reference and solidarity, specific combinations of elective segregation and local involvement, and more active patterns of mobility combined with local embeddedness.     

Developing a children's rights approach to fundraising with children in primary schools and the ethics of cultivating philanthropic citizenship

Fundraising literature predominantly focuses on adult donors, with limited literature addressing younger donors, particularly children, and virtually no discussion on the normative ethics which inform fundraising with children. Addressing this gap, this article examines the ethical dilemmas posed by the mainstreaming of charity fundraising in primary schools. Regardless of high levels of participation, research with primary school pupils shows that children's engagement in fundraising activities is often passive, with little decision making afforded to children. First, we question the ethics of passively engaging children in the fundraising relationship. Second, we question the role of fundraising more broadly in helping to cultivate children's philanthropic citizenship, suggesting that current fundraising mechanisms in schools are counter-intuitive to fostering long-term philanthropic engagement. We argue that by critically engaging children in the process of giving, children develop a deeper understanding of the cause areas that matter to them, which cultivates a longer-term commitment to philanthropy. This is potentially a different goal than that of many organisations involving schools in fundraising, where the focus is on incentivising transactional fundraising efforts aiming to raise as much money as possible and thus raises particular ethical challenges which must be considered. In this paper we draw on previous research and established frameworks for understanding philanthropic behaviour to explore the ethical challenges of fundraising with children in schools and present a pathway towards a more child-led, children's rights approach to fundraising in primary schools.     

Sustainability practices: trends in New Zealand businesses

This paper reports on the sustainability practices of New Zealand businesses based on two national surveys and a series of focus groups and interviews. There was an average increase of 10% in the number of companies adopting environmental practices from 2003 to 2006. There was less of an increase for social practices, although still more commonly adopted by companies than environmental practices. Values and beliefs of management were the overwhelming driver for the adoption of sustainability practices with reputation and brand also significant drivers. Costs, management time, and knowledge/skills were the three most commonly reported barriers to adoption of sustainability initiatives. The implications of the study are that for New Zealand business, there is a strong link with the business case for sustainability. For policymakers interested in achieving sustainability goals, the results suggest that a ‘soft’ approach to business practices may be in order in New Zealand. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

A comparison of qualitatively and quantitatively driven analytic procedures of psychotherapeutic group sessions with deviant adolescents

The present paper deals with the therapy-related change in a group of deviant adolescents attending a therapeutic facility. The main issue of two studies reported here is to identify pattern of changes through different methods. The paper describes how the mixing of two different types of analysis may yield a more complex and complete view of the data. The analyses were performed at the same time: the first part (study 1), which was of a clinical–quantitative nature, involved picking out changerelated features through the analysis of the frequency of lemmas in the content of the sessions; the second part (study 2) had a qualitative orientation and traced the pattern of narrative themes in the sessions during the course of time. In both studies, the same data were analyzed at the same times, though each study adopted a different approach. While both approaches focused on change, the results brought out different aspects: the study that adopted the quantitative/clinical approach highlighted changerelated problems and proposed an explanation in terms of the “deviant peer effect”; by contrast, the qualitative study underlined the possibilities offered by change and viewed therapeutic change in terms of the shift in narrative themes from the detachment and lack of responsibility initially shown by the youths towards progressive maturation that may have been due to the efficacy of the therapy. The discussion of results brings us to consider the fuzzy set approach for future research into the field of criminology and group therapy. In conclusion, the paper shows that looking at the same data through two different methodological “lenses” yields different, and only apparently contradictory, conclusions.     

我国住房保障制度研究态势评述

本文研究目的,回顾和总结我国住房保障制度的一般理论研究,提出进一步的研究方向。研究结论,研究中存在的问题主要有,经验性研究较多,就事论事现象明显;理论性研究较少,基础理论研究较薄弱,理论体系有待建立。研究方法上存在缺陷与不足,应用研究缺乏理论指导,解决实际问题能力差。研究工作缺乏必要的协调,研究力量分散,存在低水平重复等问题。未来将要重点研究的内容包括,住房保障制度的科学理论构建;住房保障的体制和机制研究;住房保障制度中具体标准、模式以及理论体系研究。     

Research Directions

The research that can be done on compensation clearly exceeds the amount that has been and is likely to be done. Dramatic changes in the nature of work organizations and the business environment have created numerous important new reward system research topics that warrant attention. For example, the increased globalization of corporations, the increased use of information technology, and the increased use of contingent workers all raise literally hundreds of interesting researchable questions about the use of and consequences of different pay and reward practices. The articles in this volume raise many critically important questions about both the determinants of pay practices and the consequences of pay practices. Interestingly, in the articles, there is a greater focus on the determinants of pay practices than on their consequences. This is an orientation that is not present in much of the research on compensation. It tends to be more concerned with the consequences of different pay practices rather than on their determinants.Given the enormous number of researchable questions concerning pay in organizations, it is important to ask what issues should be front and center in a research agenda on pay. In short, what do we really need to know about pay systems? Before I answer this question, I need to identify one of my major biases. I believe research should focus on topics where the results are likely to be both theoretically and practically important. Given this bias, I am inclined to identify five areas where research on pay in organizations is particularly likely to yield useful results.     

The changing nature of expatriation: exploring cross-cultural adaptation through narrativity

This paper describes an exploratory research study to develop a typology showing the diversity of expatriation from the viewpoint of cross-cultural adaptation. The study draws on a narrative approach and concentrates on not-for-profit organizations, which have been overlooked in prior research. We conducted 30 in-depth interviews in an Israeli-Palestinian context for the study. Based on a narrative analysis of these we defined four types of expatriates: global careerists; balanced experts; idealizers; and drifters. The study indicates that cross-cultural adaptation does not necessarily require deep involvement or communication with the host society, as has traditionally been assumed in the literature. Cross-cultural adaptation does, however, require a focus which the expatriate can find meaningful in the long run. Three such focuses were identified: career advancement; local host community; and ideology. Our results suggest that the definition of expatriation needs to be expanded to cover the heterogeneity of expatriates.     

The adoption,character and impact of strategic human resource management: a case study of two large metropolitan Vietnamese public hospitals

In this paper the researchers set out to explore the adoption, character and impact of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in two large metropolitan Vietnamese public hospitals using a multi-level qualitative research design. Data are analyzed from 21 interviews and 5 focus groups with key players from the hospitals and government authorities. Findings show that the State controls many of the core day-to-day HR functions of public hospitals, curtailing local autonomy and management innovation. This is compacted by inadequate government funding, poor training of medical staff, and inadequate management and business skills of hospital managers. Inhibiting greater experimentation with SHRM is the fear of developing management initiatives out of sync with the State. Consequently, many managers and clinicians held negative views of the HR department and their relevance for the day-to-day management of healthcare services. Respondents reported that they perceived these factors had a negative impact on the well-being of medical staff and the quality of patient care. The paper concludes with a discussion on the necessity for continued State reforms that can enable greater autonomy of the hospitals' HRM functions and greater investment in local HR capabilities to materialize the link between SHRM, employee well-being and quality of patient care.     

Incidence of teams in the firms owned by serial,portfolio and first-time entrepreneurs

This study focused on the prevalence of teams in the firms owned by habitual and first-time entrepreneurs. Most team-oriented studies in the field of entrepreneurship have rather focused on entrepreneurial than management teams. In this study, we extend the prior research by linking management teams to the discussion and by paying attention a previous closure experience of an entrepreneur. The research revealed that management teams were more common in the firms owned by habitual than first-time entrepreneurs. Correspondingly, there were more solo entrepreneurs among the first-time entrepreneurs. The results also suggest that a closure experience decrease the probability of solo entrepreneurship.     

中国医疗卫生事业效益分析之系列研究——2005-2009年卫生部门五级综合医院效益分析

研究2005-2009年卫生部门五级综合医院的发展。研究表明,卫生部医疗卫生服务体系构建完成,五级综合医院发展强劲,运营和市场占有能力前景广阔。应加强成本预算、控制成本支出、提高管理水平,县市级医院应充分利用资源;大型医院与县级医院结对帮扶,定期送医送技术;控制总医疗费用,承担更多社会责任。     

Having a share in creating a peaceful world: teaching students to become tolerant

The occurrence of terrible incidents and situations all over the world where people are dying or suffering, due to political, economic, or cultural reasons have a great impact not only on students but on all human beings. It is therefore feasible for educators to take an active role to overcome or at least to diminish the negative effects of the situations mentioned above by including human rights education in their curriculum. For these reasons, the aim of this study is to identify the perceptions of students in a multicultural setting through the content topic of human rights to meet the language objectives of the course and also to raise tolerance awareness. The researchers obtained data through interviews, paragraphs, and the teacher’s diary based on observations and content analysis is used to analyse the qualitative data while triangulation research method is used to support the validity of the results. Results of the current study demonstrate that the course had various positive effects on the students and the objectives were met concerning language together by raising more awareness towards tolerance through the content topic of human rights.

     

CIOs' perspectives of critical success factors in ERP upgrade projects

Enterprise resource planning systems have required significant upgrades in the 21st century as many of the systems obtained prior to 2000 have become outdated due to vendor changes. SAP and Oracle have emerged as dominant vendors, and SAP has announced discontinuance of support in the future for its primary R/3 system. This study reports interviews with the chief information officers (CIOs) of 15 institutions that have undergone (or are undergoing) enterprise system upgrades, with focus on discussion of major critical success factors for ERP upgrade projects.     

Career Management in High‐Performing Organizations: A Set‐Theoretic Approach

The aim of this study is to investigate the elements of organizational career management (OCM) that can lead to strong organizational performance. The growing unpredictability of careers requires a different organizational approach of careers. Yet, new career models all focus on the individual as the central actor, leaving the role of the organization rather underdeveloped. Based on a combined perspective integrating insights from the literature on careers, high performance work systems, and idiosyncratic deals (I‐deals), we address four dimensions of OCM: supportive and developmental practices, development I‐deals, individual responsibility, and consensus. We study their relationships with company performance, thereby including the firm's human capital composition. Surveys were administered to the HR directors of 293 organizations. We apply a relatively new method, fsQCA (fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis), and complement this with more conventional structural equation modeling (SEM). The SEM analyses suggest that only supportive and developmental practices are positively associated with high performance. However, based on the fsQCA, three configurations are identified in which OCM is associated with high performance. The most prevalent configuration combined supportive and developmental practices with I‐deals and individual responsibility for career management. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings, and address the utility of adopting a configurational approach in career research. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Perceptions of a Quality of Work-Life Survey from the Perspective of Employees in a Canadian Cancer Centre

This qualitative (phenomenological) study explored the perceptions of a quality of work-life (QWL) survey from the perspective of 10 employees from a variety of departments in a Canadian cancer centre. Data were collected through one-on-one interviews at the workplace. The interviews were conducted several months after the survey had been completed and the findings presented to staff. The following themes emerged from the analysis: (1) talking about the survey triggered discussions of QWL issues most of which were not captured in the survey; (2) the impact of the survey was more important than the survey itself; and (3) participants were concerned that departments or groups of employees were labelled based on the survey results. Implications for researchers who wish to use surveys and standardized scales in health care settings are discussed.     

中美会计研究方向的差异分析:来自两国权威期刊的数据

本文以美国《会计评论》(Accounting Review)2001年至2005年所刊载的240篇文章和中国《会计研究》(Accounting Research)2001年至2005年所刊载的819篇文章作为研究对象,对中美两国会计学术界的研究现状进行了比较分析。结果发现,中国会计学术界的研究范围更广,研究重点是传统的基本理论,且选题较大,大多以规范研究为主;美国会计学术界研究所涉及的领域相对集中,主要集中在基本理论、公司治理、资本市场、审计等领域,在选题上善于“小题大做”,以实证研究为主。笔者认为,我国当前的会计研究应该更务实、更系统,研究方法应多样化,应借鉴国外的研究经验,以推动我国会计研究水平的不断提高。     

Understanding applicant behavior in employment interviews: A theoretical model of interviewee performance

The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical model of interviewee performance in selection interviews. Our model positions the construct of interviewee performance as a central mediating variable between candidate attributes and interviewer ratings. The model includes six sets of factors that may influence interviewee performance, interviewer ratings, or both (e.g., interviewer–interviewee dynamics). This model promotes a fundamental shift in the way we think about employment interviews, from a focus on interviewer ratings to a focus on interviewee performance. Factors like culture and interview specific self-efficacy, while receiving little attention in current literature, take on greater significance when viewed through the lens of interviewee performance. A number of avenues for future research are developed and presented, which we hope will encourage future research in this area.