Language‐Based Exclusion and Prosocial Behaviors in Organizations

Organizations can be seen as amalgams of languages that can serve as a source of divisive tensions among employees. In our conceptual model, we draw upon social identity and social exclusion research to propose that linguistic diversity increases the potential for language‐based exclusion in multilingual work settings. Language may cue listeners to ethnic or cultural stereotypes as well as negatively affect perceptions of speakers’ competence, leading listeners to exclude speakers of certain languages. We contend that when excluded, perception of oneself can be cast in an antagonistic relation to perceptions of others, with detrimental effects on prosocial behaviors. Perceptions of procedural unfairness, a weakened identity, and impaired mood serve to amplify the association between language‐based exclusion and prosocial behaviors. However, organizational factors such as positive diversity climate may mitigate experiences with language‐based exclusion. We outline an agenda for future research and discuss implications for human resource practice. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Does Domestic Intimate Partner Aggression Affect Career Outcomes? The Role of Perceived Organizational Support

Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory, we developed and tested a moderated mediation model linking domestic intimate partner aggression (IPA) to job performance and career advancement. Our model posits that the indirect relationship between IPA and career advancement via in‐role performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) is moderated by perceived organizational support (POS). Overall, multisource and multiwave data obtained from two independent samples of employed women from the Philippines supported our predictions. Specifically, results suggest that: (1) IPA was negatively associated with supervisor‐rated in‐role performance and OCBs; (2) there was a stronger negative relationship between IPA and in‐role performance and OCBs for employees with low as opposed to those with high levels of POS; and (3) the conditional indirect effects of IPA in predicting supervisor‐rated promotability and actual promotion via in‐role performance and OCBs were stronger under conditions of low as opposed to high POS. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Co‐Worker Exclusion and Employee Outcomes: An Investigation of the Moderating Roles of Perceived Organizational and Social Support

When does social support alleviate or exacerbate the effects of being excluded by colleagues in the workplace? This study integrates belongingness and social support theories to predict and demonstrate the differential effects of work‐related support (i.e., perceived organizational support; POS) and non‐work‐related support (i.e., family and social support; FSS) on employee reactions to co‐worker exclusion. Consistent with our predictions, we found that employees reporting high levels of co‐worker exclusion and high levels of perceived organizational support demonstrate higher levels of performance and increased levels of self‐worth than those reporting low levels of POS. Alternatively, support from family or friends intensified the negative relationship between co‐worker exclusion and self‐esteem and the positive relationship between co‐worker exclusion and job‐induced tension. Unexpectedly, FSS did not influence the supervisor‐rated task performance of excluded workers, nor did POS mitigate the relationship between co‐worker exclusion and job‐induced tension. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Configuring designers? Using one agile project management methodology to achieve user participation

The aim was to examine the possibilities and limits of involving end‐users in applied knowledge‐producing settings. Is it possible to have user participation as a part of the design process? The agile method DSDM supposed to enhance user participation as well as improve other aspects of the management of computer system design projects.     

美国人在中国的幸福生活

这是我和我的丈夫第二次来中国教英语.八年前,我们在西安生活了一段时间,那段让人难忘的经历让我们决定再次回到这个我们热爱的国家.     

An ambient tax approach to invasive species

Invasive species have become an issue of increasing concern in recent years. Invasive species are species that are not native to an area but are imported either intentionally or unintentionally and become established. A primary pathway for introduction is the ballast water of ships. Although not all imported species become invasive, those that do cause extensive damage to ecosystems and have been blamed for the endangerment of numerous native species. In many cases, release of non-native species can be prevented, either through open-ocean ballast water exchange, retention of ballast water, or other biosecurity measures. However, policies designed to encourage such actions face several specific challenges. The difficulty of linking an invasion to a specific vessel and of monitoring individual vessels' care makes using standard environmental liability plans difficult if not impossible. In this paper, we present an alternative policy option, that of an ambient tax. Building on the work of Segerson [Segerson, Kathleen, 1988. Uncertainty and incentives for nonpoint pollution control. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 15: 87-98.], we show that an ambient tax can ensure socially optimal behavior in both the short-run and the long-run with minimal vessel specific information.     

ASDA: Organic Growth of a Retailer in the United Kingdom?

This article analyzes the role of glocalization in Wal-Mart's venture in the United Kingdom. In 1999, Wal-Mart acquired ASDA, a British food retailer. Glocalization refers to strategies adopted by multinational corporations to cater to local tastes and differences after entering a foreign market. The authors' main argument is the following: after Wal-Mart acquired ASDA, it did not manage to successfully impose its Wal-Martization strategies because they consisted mainly of “organic growth” strategies. Organic growth is a practice whereby a corporation overpoweringly imposes its home-based blueprint of product consumption and corporate culture on foreign cultures. As demonstrated in this analysis, Wal-Mart had to drop its Bentonville-based shopping and corporate formula and, instead, adopt the principles of glocalization.     

Managing multicultural teams

Multicultural teams offer a number of advantages to international firms, including deep knowledge of different product markets, culturally sensitive customer service, and 24-hour work rotations. But those advantages may be outweighed by problems stemming from cultural differences, which can seriously impair the effectiveness of a team or even bring itto a stalemate. How can managers best cope with culture-based challenges? The authors conducted in-depth interviews with managers and members of multicultural teams from all over the world. Drawing on their extensive research on dispute resolution and teamwork and those interviews, they identify four problem categories that can create barriers to a team's success: direct versus indirect communication, trouble with accents and fluency, differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority, and conflicting norms for decision making. If a manager--or a team member--can pinpoint the root cause of the problem, he or she is likelier to select an appropriate strategy for solving it. The most successful teams and managers, the authors found, dealt with multicultural challenges in one of four ways: adaptation (acknowledging cultural gaps openly and working around them), structural intervention (changing the shape or makeup of the team), managerial intervention (setting norms early or bringing in a higher-level manager), and exit (removing a team member when other options have failed). Which strategy is best depends on the particular circumstances--and each has potential complications. In general, though, managers who intervene early and set norms; teams and managers who try to engage everyone on the team; and teams that can see challenges as stemming from culture, not personality, succeed in solving culture-based problems with good humor and creativity. They are the likeliest to harvest the benefits inherent in multicultural teams.     

An Examination of Takeovers, Job Loss and the Wage Decline within UK Industry

This paper investigates the effects of takeovers on workers’ employment prospects and wages in the UK for the years 1987–1995. We address directly the idea that takeovers involve a ‘breach of trust’ with employees. Our results provide no support for the breach of trust hypothesis and rather suggest shareholders and workers in the post‐acquisition joint entity are locked in a form of ‘equal misery’ following the execution of the takeover. There already an exist a wide range of event studies documenting the effect of takeovers on shareholders and a smaller number of studies discussing the impact of takeovers on employees. The contribution of the present study is to relate the separate effects of acquisition on these two groups to each other. By doing so we seek to test directly the proposition that takeovers reallocate rents from workers to target shareholders, via the bid‐premia paid on acquisition.