Ethnic homophily perceptions as an emergent IHRM challenge: evidence from firms operating in Sri Lanka during the ethnic conflict

Ethnic conflict is a defining characteristic of the post-Cold War era and is prevalent particularly in emerging economies, areas of increasing interest to multinational enterprises. Yet little is known about the international human resource management challenges arising from such societal context. Utilizing social identity theory, we propose that ethnic homophily perceptions in the workplace – an employee's assessment that colleagues prefer working with ethnically similar others – is a reflection of the societal context and can be detrimental to the organization if not managed appropriately. We investigate whether contact theory offers insights to manage such perceptions. Drawing on a sample of 550 managers in Sri Lanka during a period of protracted ethnic conflict, we found that employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict in the societal context is positively related to ethnic homophily perceptions in the workplace, and that both ethnic diversity in workgroups and quality of work relationships serve to reduce perceptions of ethnic homophily.     

Interactive identity work of professionals in management: a hospital case study

ABSTRACT

Hybrid professional managers appear less effective in introducing management into public professional settings than policymakers hope. To date, research has offered little understanding of professionals’ identity transition challenge and the role of social interactions underpinning this process. We studied the identity work of hybrid doctors inside a large public health-care organization, finding that it takes place through processes of familiarizing with management, rationalizing being a hybrid, and legitimizing the new role-identity. We contribute to the literature by showing that identity work is distributed and enabled by social interactions beyond the professional group. Implications for policymakers and executives are discussed.     

论军人职业认同的形成

运用理论分析的方法,立足心理学视角,从知、情、意、信、行五个方面论述了军人职业认同形成的心理和实践过程,进一步探讨了军人职业认同形成的心理本质。     

Resource flows through the multilateral system for food and agriculture : Trends of the decade

The tenth session of the World Food Council in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, held on 11–15 June 1984, undertook an assessment of international activities in the decade since 1974 for meeting the World Food Conference objectives of improving the global food system and overcoming the blight of world hunger. One document prepared for the session looks specifically at the activities of the multilateral institutions since the 1974 conference, in terms of both resource and programme commitments. This article provides a summary of that WFC document.     

Socio-economic characteristics and the effect of taxation as a health policy instrument

This paper analyses the quantitative effects of using economic instruments in health policy on the basis of price elasticities calculated from estimated demand systems. The nutritional effects of various taxation schemes are compared for households in different age groups and social classes. Focusing on the consumption of saturated fats, fibre and sugar; it is generally found that the impact of price instruments is stronger for lower social classes than in other groups of the population. With regard to age groups, it is mostly the youngest that decrease their demand for saturated fat in response to price changes, while it is mostly the middle-aged who exhibit price responsiveness in their demand for sugar. These groups are however not considered as key target groups for dietary regulation; thus tax instruments may be effective in improving diets on average, but the design of the instruments and the targeting of vulnerable groups with special needs should be done with care. It should be noted that a tax on a single nutrient or food may have undesired effects on the demand for other food components, though this may be avoided by introducing taxes/subsidies on several food products simultaneously.     

Growth options and poverty reduction in Ethiopia – An economy-wide model analysis

This study focuses on which agricultural subsectors are important in Ethiopia’s economic growth and poverty reduction and what kind of agricultural and nonagricultural growth is needed to achieve the millennium development goal of halving the incidence of poverty by 2015. A spatially disaggregated, economy-wide model was developed, enabling the analysis of growth and poverty reduction linkages at national and regional levels using national household surveys, agricultural sample surveys, geographic information systems, and other national and regional data. The study reveals that agriculture can play a central role in decreasing poverty and increasing growth in Ethiopia. Within the agriculture, growth in cereals and other staple crops should receive priority. Agricultural growth also requires concurrent investments in roads and other market conditions. At the subnational level, similar growth rates within agricultural subsectors have different effects on poverty, necessitating regionally based strategies for growth and poverty reduction.     

Meanings of Food among Polish and American Young Women

Food carries different meanings across cultures and times. This study aimed to explore the meanings of food among young women in Poland and the United States using a qualitative approach. The findings show that, in both countries, women associate food with health, pleasure, and socializing, but overall Polish women are less emotional about food. More specifically, in the United States, women associate food with love, their identities, and have more conflictual feelings about food, whereas in Poland women associate food with creativity. The study discusses marketing implications of the results.     

“Going natural”: Black women’s identity project shifts in hair care practices

Hair care, a seemingly mundane consumption practice, is packed with sociocultural meanings and constitutes an important realm of identity work for consumers. Drawing upon existing literature on consumer identity projects, this paper investigates the experiences of urban, Black women in Kenya as they disengage from the normative practice of altering their natural hair texture using chemical straighteners (a practice that conforms to Eurocentric beauty ideals of straight, flowing hair), and adopt the non-normative hair care practice of “going natural,” in which they embrace their natural hair texture and hairstyles. This paper traces the historical, sociocultural, and political events that underpin the normative ideology associated with the identity marker of natural Black hair, and how this ideology influences the women’s “going natural” experience. Findings reveal tensions that emerge in the women’s identity project disengagement and reconstruction process, and how the women navigate their position as they reimagine their embodied identity quest.     

Improving candy industry competitiveness: Retailers’ perception regarding customer satisfaction

This study aims to classify service quality elements in candy industry in order to determine their instrumentality to customer satisfaction. To address this purpose, a Fuzzy Kano questionnaire was distributed to 512 major retailers of candy products of four predominant candy companies in Iran. Subsequently, we calculated satisfaction increment index (SII) and dissatisfaction decrement index (DDI) for each of the quality elements. Brand name and quality are considered as must-be elements, while availability of credit purchases is considered as indifferent element by the majority of retailers. Eight out of 24 studied elements are found to be considered as attractive elements by majority of customers. Regular visits element ranks first in terms of satisfaction increment index (SII). This paper provides helpful insight for marketers to prioritize improvement of different quality elements. Therefore, this paper helps organizations to perceive their customers needs more thoroughly and improve their customer satisfaction policy.     

The effect of consumer food creation on the food consumption experience

Two experiments show that the role the consumer plays in the creation of their food can affect the consumption experience. When guilt is present in the consumption of the food item, namely an unhealthy food item, having someone else create the food item increases taste evaluations, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. However, when guilt is not present, as in the case for healthy foods, there is no difference in food evaluations when the end consumer or another creates the food. These results have important implications for food retailers, food service establishment, and food delivery companies.