Organisational culture in the age of the Internet: an exploratory study

Through an exploratory study of a large financial services organisation, this study finds that the idiosyncratic nature of the Internet and Internet operations point to a range of implications for both the interaction of organisational subcultures and the internal and external perceptions of organisational culture.     

Strangers in the night: speeddating, CCI and service businesses

Organisations are increasingly realising the importance of customer-to-customer interactions (CCI). From theme parks and shopping malls, to hairdressing and health clubs, interactions between customers are recognised as a key aspect of the service experience. This research examines CCI in the context of the speeddating phenomena, a unique setting in which conversations between strangers are at the very core of the service exchange. Three elements emerge from an in-depth qualitative study to provide new insights for managers who wish to influence CCI and give some structure to future research in the area: planning, roles and performances, and cooperation versus competition.     

Preemployment urinalysis drug testing: A critical review of psychometric and legal issues and effects on applicants

This article reviews the research evidence on reliability, validity, utility, legality, and applicant reactions regarding preemployment urinalysis drug testing. Key criticisms of such testing are discussed as well. Drug testing does appear to correlate with various job outcomes (e.g., turnover), but the effect size seems to be quite small. Moreover, the utility of such testing is questioned. Research concerning applicant reactions shows considerable variance as to its acceptability, depending among other considerations, on the nature of the job. While preemployment urinalysis testing is generally legal, growing state and Federal regulations affect the conditions under which such tests may be given.     

The effect of unemployment insurance on weekly hours of work in Canada

Major revisions to the Canadian unemployment insurance program in 1997 created a benefit structure that effectively provides more insurance to workers who are employed for longer workweeks. This anomaly creates an incentive for workers and firms to tailor their weekly work schedules to maximize net program benefits. Analysis of Labour Force Survey data shows that workers and firms responded to these changes by altering weekly hours as expected. This behavioural response demonstrates the sensitivity of hours of work decisions to labour market policies. JEL classification: J65
Les effets de l'assurance-chômage sur le nombre hebdomadaire d'heures de travail au Canada. Des changements majeurs dans le programme canadien d'assurance-chômage en 1997 ont mis en place une structure de prestations qui fournissait un support additionnel aux travailleurs qui travaillaient de plus longues heures dans la semaine. Cette anomalie a créé une incitation pour travailleurs et entreprises à ajuster leur cédule hebdomadaire de travail de manière à maximiser les bénéfices nets du programme. L'analyse des données de l'Enquête sur la population active montre que travailleurs et entreprises ont répondu à ces changements en ajustant les heures hebdomadaires de travail comme prévu. Cette réaction montre bien la sensitivité des heures de travail aux politiques du marché du travail.     

Service sabotage: A study of antecedents and consequences

Although much of the existing research on employee sabotage and deviance focuses on the manufacturing sector, studies have also found evidence of deliberate employee misbehavior in a variety of service settings. In this study, the authors conceptualize and test a model of service sabotage dynamics that incorporates both the antecedents and the consequences of such behaviors. In doing so, the study contributes contemporary empirical evidence of factors associated with the deliberate sabotage of service by frontline customer-contact personnel. Using a survey-based approach, the authors collected data from 259 respondents from a sample of 1,000 respondents. The findings largely support the hypothesized antecedents of service sabotage and show that a range of individual characteristics, management control efforts, and perceived labor market conditions are linked with service sabotage. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that service sabotage behaviors are associated with individual and group rewards, effects for customers, and other performance measures. Lloyd C. Harris (Harris@Cardiff.ac.uk) (PhD, Wales) holds the Sir Julian Hodge Chair in Strategic Marketing at Cardiff Business School. His main research interests include dysfunction at work, the marketing-organizational behavior interface, market orientation, dysfunctional behavior during consumption, e-loyalty, and organizational culture. His work has been published in theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Service Research, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Management Studies, theInternational Journal of Human Resource Management, and theJournal of Services Marketing. Emmanuel Ogbonna (Ogbonna@Cardiff.ac.uk) (PhD, Wales) is a professor of management and organizational behavior at Cardiff Business School. His major research interests are in the areas of organizational strategy, culture, human resource management, and the U.K. food retail sector. His other research interests cover all aspects of race discrimination on government-sponsored training programs. His work has been published in theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Service Research, theJournal of Management Studies, theBritish Journal of Industrial Relations, andWork, Employment and Society. He serves on the review board of several international journals.     

Survival strategies of HIV/AIDS – affected households in Soweto

This article reports the survival strategies used by households in Soweto with at least one HIV/AIDS-affected member. Data were collected on four occasions between September 2002 and August 2003 from each household, based on diary records and supplemented by interviews with the financial head of the household. In terms of frequency of use and the contribution made to the finances of affected households, the most important survival strategies were: the sick member continuing at work for as long as possible, borrowing from friends and relatives, receiving transfers from relatives, and taking up social grants. These results are broadly similar to those reported by Booysen and associates in their Free State studies.     

Economic growth and equity: Complements or opposites?

There is no automatic mechanism in a market economy to guarantee reduced inequality of income with growth. Some theories lead us to expect just the opposite. At best, there are self-limiting cyclical effects, associated with changes in unemployment. U.S. economic growth has actually been quite slow since the 1950s. Besides, there are structural barriers to reduced inequality that operate with or without growth. Historical evidence for different countries presents a mixed picture. For the U.S. economy, postwar growth has been associated with an upturn in measured inequality. Government intervention has been mildly equalizing, through transfers and expenditures but not through taxes.     

Estimating total statewide travel

Past research has not addressed the specific procedures needed to estimate the total number of people traveling by motor vehicle in a state or the number of vehicular trips they take based on a sample of those travelers. Methods were developed in a study in which leisure travelers were surveyed enroute throughout a state over a year's time. Procedures involved in trip estimation are discussed, and a simple method for cross-validating estimates obtained is proposed. An estimate of one segment of these trips was validated by comparing it with a figure obtained from a state agency, suggesting that the approach is sound. Implications of the method and its results are discussed.