Comparing the impact of management support on police officers’ perceptions of discretionary power and engagement: Australia,USA and Malta

Abstract

This paper uses Social Exchange Theory as a lens for comparing the impact of management support upon police perceptions of discretionary power and employee engagement, across three countries. A survey-based, self-report process collected data from 193 police officers in Australia, 588 from the USA, and 249 from Malta. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The findings suggest a significantly different management support context across the three countries, as well as significantly different perceptions of discretionary power. Across the three countries, police perceived relatively poor satisfaction with organizational management support and only some engagement levels. However, USA police perceived significantly more discretionary power than the other country samples. These findings provide greater clarity about the link between management support, discretionary power and engagement for the police officers. Since employee engagement likely affects policing outcomes, the findings suggest that poor management support of police officers could negatively affect the provided service. Potential strategies to enhance police engagement include (a) training police managers about how to manage so as to promote greater engagement, and (b) modifying police managers’ performance indicators in line with achieving better police engagement.     

3自由度并联机器人的研究现状和应用前景

3自由度并联机器人具有结构相对简单、高刚度、低惯性力、大载荷和高速能力的特点,在工业生产及其他领域有着广阔的应用前景,引起了越来越多的学者的广泛兴趣。     

上市公司股权集中度影响因素实证分析

本文以上市公司数据为样本,采用主成分法、逐步回归、方差分析等多种分析方法对我国上市公司股权集中度影响因素进行了实证分析。结果表明,上市公司股权集中度的主要影响因素为持股主体、行业分布和规模,在此基础上还对我国上市公司的治理提出了建议。     

论我国会计科学研究方法的专门研究

会计学是一门具有自身专属研究对象与研究内容的科学,它是社会科学体系中管理科学的一个重要组成部分,其理论的发展与创新离不开科学的研究方法,故会计科学研究方法也应作为会计科学理论体系中的一个专门问题进行研究。本文以对我国会计科学研究方法研究现状的评析为基础,提出会计科学研究方法研究成果的运用应当以推动其学术规范建设作为重点。     

中期财务报告准则的比较研究

为提高上市公司会计信息质量，更好地保护投资者利益，2001年11月，财政部发布了《企业会计准则——中期财务报告》。鉴于美国是实行中期报告制度最早的国家，其制度也相对完善，本文拟将我国中期财务报准则同美国的相关准则及国际会计准则IAS34作粗浅的比较分析。通过比较分析，借鉴国外准则之长处，有利于推动我国中期报告理论和实务的发展。     

Action Research is Similar to Design Science

In management information systems (MIS) action research is long considered as promising but low-level research approach. It has an utmost relevance because action researchers are working with practitioners to solve the important practical problem. Design science outlined some years ago is just winning a wider audience. Action research was traditionally classified into qualitative research methods. But it seems to be the “wrong” home of action research. We shall show that after comparison of the seven aspects: concrete results of the study, knowledge produced, activities, the intent and the nature of a study, the division of labor in a study and generation, use and test of knowledge, the concordance between the characteristics of action research on the one hand and of design science on the other hand is very good. Hence, action research and design science should next be considered as similar research approaches, and this is a turning point in the history of both action research and design science.     

中国航空货运顾客价值动因的实证研究

通过考察中国航空货运,建立航空顾客价值的决定因素与动态性理论模型,运用结构方程方法对其检验,结果表明:时间因素和便捷性因素是影响货运顾客价值的核心要素,价格因素已退之其次,而且来自竞争者、服务商、顾客、宏观环境的变化都对顾客价值动态性有显著影响。     

Nonresponse Bias and Stimulus Effects in the Dutch National Election Study

Bias is a much-debated issue in survey research. Answer effects (respondents claim to have behaved differently than they did in reality), nonresponse bias (nonrespondents differ on important variables from the respondents) and stimulus effects (by participating in a previous wave of a study, respondents change their behavior or attitude) can seriously distort the results of survey research. By using data from the 1998 Dutch National Election Study the authors show that the results of election research can indeed be affected by bias. Not only are significant effects found in the distribution of political attitude and voting behavior variables as a result of both nonresponse bias and stimulus effects, it is also shown that relations between variables change as a result of bias.     

Using replication research for just-in-time purchasing construct development

Using replication research, the validity of the just-in-time purchasing (JITP) construct is established. Although empirical researchers have examined JITP over the last two decades, a consistent set of valid, reliable factors has not been used. The lack of valid construct is a barrier to hypotheses testing and meta-analyses on JITP. This study confirmed the validity of six JITP factors: top management commitment, employee relations, training, supplier quality management, transportation, and quantities delivered using two different data sets and testing the first- and second-order structure of the JITP construct. Content validity, reliability, unidimensionality, convergent validity, discriminant validity, criterion-related validity, and an invariant factorial structure of the JITP construct were empirically established.     

Connecting ‘talent’ meanings and multi-level context: a discursive approach

Abstract

Through an in-depth, multilevel case study of a professional services firm, this paper illuminates what stakeholders mean when they use the term ‘talent’. The paper underlines how various contextual factors including, workforce composition, ownership structures and individual perceptions influence talent meanings within an organisation. Our analysis of talent phenomena at a multiplicity of levels illustrates that it is not only about the words, phrases, and terms employed when talking about talent that requires examination. There is a need to deliberate on the meanings that underpin the talk because while stakeholders may talk the same way they may mean different things. The paper makes a key theoretical contribution through specific recognition of the importance of thoughtful reflection of how stakeholders discursively construct meanings because ‘talent’ is a concept, which requires translation via talk to become meaningful within the material world and these meanings are influenced by context. Thus, we cannot infer, that talent meanings radiate within organisations, nor across organisational boundaries, industries or countries because discourses arise and materialise within specific contexts and we must acknowledge that talent discourses can not be removed from the context in which they operate.