Rated to exhaustion? Reactions to performance appraisal processes

Performance appraisal systems are a popular tool within organisations to enhance employee commitment and productivity. This paper examines the consequences of three aspects of a performance appraisal system (distributive justice, procedural justice and the performance rating) on the level of emotional exhaustion reported by employees in a large public sector research organisation.     

The Impact of Divestment on Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from a Panel of UK Companies

It has widely been suggested that during the 1980s many diversified firms narrowed the scope of their activities by refocusing on core businesses, primarily through divestment activity. This study examines the impact of divestment on firm performance, using an unbalanced panel of 132 UK quoted companies over the period 1985 to 1993. The results suggest that divestment has a positive, significant and substantial effect in raising the profitability of the vendor company. We find limited support for the view that the benefit from divestment is greater for larger and/or more diversified firms and firms operating with weak governance arrangements.     

Ethics and HRM: A Review and Conceptual Analysis

This paper reviews and develops the ethical analysis of human resource management (HRM). Initially, the ethical perspective of HRM is differentiated from the "mainstrea" and critical perspectives of HRM. To date, the ethical analysis of HRM has taken one of two forms: the application Kantian and utilitarian ethical theories to the gestalt of HRM, and the application of theories of justice and fairness to specific HRM practices. This paper is concerned with the former, the ethical analysis of HRM in its entirety. It shows that numerous theoretical shortcomings exist, least of which is the disregard of stakeholder theory. These deficiencies are explored and, as such, the analysis is advanced. It is argued that such ethical analysis is outside the scope of the modern corporation. A third way in which ethics may be applied to HRM is suggested. Ethical concerns are used as a basis to develop minimum standards against which HRM, in its various guises and practice, may be evaluated. Yet, even when judged by these standards, HRM is seriously lacking. This begs the question, not of whether HRM is ethical, but of whether HRM can be ethical.     

Variety-Seeking and Time of Day: Why Leader Brands Hope Young Adults Shop in the Afternoon,but Follower Brands Hope for Morning

The relationship between variety-seeking behaviors and the time of day at which choices are made is investigated. It is proposed that more variety-seeking will typically occur during times of day when people are experiencing arousal lows rather than arousal peaks. Two studies support this view. Moreover, it is also shown that the incidence of choice is greater for follower brands during day periods when variety-seeking is heightened, whereas leader brands fare better in periods when variety-seeking is relatively minimal.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

酷似跑车的轿车——2004款马自达RX-8

2004款的马自达RX能够提供跑车的性能和操控性,同时还具备四轮轿车的实用性。如果你既想满足你的实际需要,同时又希望满足你的爱车情结,马自达RX-8无疑是你最明智的选择。     

To be engaged or not to be engaged: The antecedents and consequences of service employee engagement

Drawing on the Job Demand-Resource (JD-R) model, this study explores the antecedents and consequences of service employee engagement. The model examines the main effect of resources (autonomy, feedback, and support) on engagement and how the interaction among resources impacts engagement. Further, the model also examines the mediating role of engagement in linking resources to customers' perceived level of service employee performance. The study uses multi-level modeling on data from 482 service employees and customers in 66 retail stores. Results suggest that supervisory feedback is positively related to engagement while supervisory support is not. More engagement is related to more positive service employee performance. Regarding the interactions, supervisory support had a positive effect while supervisory feedback had a negative effect on engagement at high levels of perceived autonomy. Also, engagement was a full mediator between supervisory feedback and service employee performance. Implications for retail service management are discussed.     

Shirking in a monetary business cycle model

Abstract .  This paper investigates whether a limited participation model with imperfectly observed effort can reproduce the economy's responses to a monetary policy shock without appealing to high labour supply elasticities or high markups. The results demonstrate that the presence of imperfectly observed effort, in combination with the limited participation assumption, allows the model to account for the presence of involuntary unemployment, nominal wage rigidity, and the observed responses to monetary policy shocks.     

WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: RESOURCE COMMITMENT,CAPABILITIES, AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Modern warehousing firms and distribution centers are overwhelmed with information related to the flows and storage of goods and services. The efficient and effective utilization of logistics‐related information can enhance firms' ability to reduce costs while simultaneously improving customer satisfaction. Warehouse management systems (WMS) are frequently implemented and used with these goals in mind. The current research examines resource‐based empirical justification for the pursuit and implementation of WMS. In addition, a research agenda is offered to guide future research efforts related to WMS and the broader area of logistics information systems (LIS).     

Economics at the FCC, 2008–2009: Broadband and Merger Review

This article focuses on the topic of the National Broadband Plan, which the FCC is mandated to provide to Congress February 17, 2010, the FCC Merger Review process, and the determination of optimal penalties for violations of FCC rules or orders.