Friend or Foe? The effects of contingent employees on standard employees' work attitudes

Using data from a large-scale national survey of employers and employees in Britain, we examine the impact of the presence of contingent employees on work attitudes of standard (full-time, indefinite-term) employees. Drawing on differing explanations for the increased use of contingent employment arrangements, we derive competing hypotheses about how this use affects standard employees' work perceptions and attitudes, and explore the impact of a number of potentially intervening factors. We find that contingent employees have little effect on standard employees' perceptions of work overload, but strongly reduce perceived job security, which in turn, mediates the negative effects of contingent employees on job satisfaction and organizational loyalty.     

The Relationship Among Ethical Climate,Job Satisfaction,Organizational Commitment,and External Auditor＇s Turnover Intention

This study attempts to examine the relationship among ethical climate, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention in the context of the Malaysian external auditor＇s work environment. The questionnaire is sent to a sample of external auditors from Malaysian Big Four （Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler （KPMG）, Ernst and Young, Deloitte KassimChan, and PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC）） main offices. There are 167 useable responses. The regression results have provided evidence that ethical climate is directly, significantly, and positively associated with job satisfaction. In contrast, ethical climate appeared not to be directly related with external auditor＇s turnover intention. Both job satisfaction and organizational commitment were identified as significant predictors in explaining turnover intention, since they had a significant and negative effect on external auditor＇s turnover intention. This study also implied that job satisfaction had a significant effect on organizational commitment. Furthermore, the findings revealed that organizational commitment partially mediated the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. The results extend the literature on external auditor＇s turnover intention and provide insights for human resource management in accurately assessing employee＇s turnover intention in order to improve retention and reduce actual turnover particularly in audit firms.     

The Practicality of Super Bowl Advertising for New Products and Companies

Abstract

Companies that advertise during the Super Bowl can reach 40 million U.S. households with a 30-second commercial spot, but the cost can exceed $2 million. This research examines Nielsen television ratings and expenses for related commercial spots and suggests that the Super Bowl is not always the best site for introducing new companies or products to the marketplace. ANOVA test results indicate that younger companies may better affect purchase decisions by advertising more frequently during less expensive programming slots.     

Mobilizing consent: paternalism and cellular manufacturing

In this paper we explore the dynamics of the introduction of New Systems and Structures of Work Organization (NSSWO) in the context of the forces impacting upon organizational change in the unionized sector of manufacturing industry throughout the Thatcher period. This we do by way of a detailed case study of a major UK auto-components manufacturer. We explore a number of changes in work organization, including the introduction of a cellular-based system of manufacturing, from its initial strategic conception through to its implementation; the delegation of responsibility for quality to shop-floor operators and the use of more flexible working practices. In doing so, we reconsider the context of change, the detailed processes of change and the pattern of accommodation between labour and management. Drawing upon our previous work on the nature of paternalism (Ackers,and Black, 1991), we explore its significance in terms of management’s constant drive for more economic work practices and patterns of organization. Specifically we explore the significance of paternalism as a relevant concept in interpreting the case, and hence, also, as a relevant concept in understanding HRM. The case challenges the prevailing ideology that the ‘successful’

economic organization requires (a) a de-regulated labour market and (b)

a trade union free environment, or, failing this, that management needs to

develop an individualistic approach towards the work-force, moving from the

more pluralist‘industrial relations’approach towards an essentially ‘unitarist framework, as found in certain interpretations of ‘uman resource management’(Guest, 1987)

The paper is thus a contribution to the continuing analysis of those ‘tensions and struggles through which the open ended potential of labour power have been managed, through shifting patterns of coercion, accommodation and compliance into profitable forms of production’(Elger and Smith, 1994: 12; Thompson, 1990). By means of this case we attempt to explore this issue with respect to three interconnected

themes:

The place of paternalism as a relevant concept in the age of HRM.

The extent to which organizations may be better advised to look towards ways

to build upon their existing organization culture, rather than seeking solutions

from overseas models.

Linking with previous work on the ‘Joint Process’in the US (Black and Ackers, 1994), the paper raises issues concerning the ‘strategic issue . . . which managers have to face . . . the balance between joint regulation and joint consultation’(Storey and Sissons, 1993: 221), and hence the role of trades unions in organizational change programmes.     

Relationship between positive psychological capital and creative performance

Despite considerable attention to the creative process and its relationship with personal characteristics, there is no published study focused directly on the relationship between the recently recognized core construct of psychological capital (PsyCap) and creative performance. Drawing from a large (N = 899) and heterogeneous sample of working adults, this study investigates PsyCap and its components (i.e., efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience) as predictors of creative performance. Overall PsyCap predicted creative performance over and above each of the four PsyCap components. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

虚拟企业与耗散结构理论

作为系统论的新发展,耗散结构理论主要研究一个系统从无序向有序,从低序向高序转化的机理、条件和规律。将耗散结构理论的思想和方法用于解决管理领域的问题,需要满足耗散结构的一般性判据。虚拟企业是多个企业自发形成的一种自组织结构,具有耗散结构的特征。虚拟企业系统中的耗散结构特征表现在开放性、远离平衡态和序参量的存在。     

Co-production of service innovations through dynamic capability enhancement

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of co-production practices with customers on service innovation. Specifically, we sought to determine whether dynamic capabilities (the specific abilities a company has to shape, reshape, configure, and reconfigure idiosyncratic assets to respond to changing technologies and markets) could mediate the effect of co-production on service innovation. In this paper, we examine the factors that could influence co-production practices and determine whether organizational commitment moderates the effect of co-production practice on an organization's dynamic capabilities. Using a survey approach of Taiwanese firms, we showed that dynamic capability fully mediates the effects of co-production practice on service innovation and that market orientation and customer matching have a significant influence on co-production practices. In addition, this study has empirically demonstrated that service firms would be well advised to engage in developing service innovation through enhancing their own dynamic capabilities.     

我国医药零售企业国际比较与对策研究

随着我国加入WTO及世界经济一体化 ,我国在医药流通领域的管制将于 2 0 0 5年放开。以我国医药零售业的代表企业———深圳一致药业股份有限公司、上海华氏大药房有限公司为例同世界巨头———CVS和Walgreen在企业的发展历史、赢利模式、绩效评价指标分析等方面做横向比较 ,找出我国医药零售企业和世界巨头的差距 ,在此基础上才能从产业组织结构优化的角度制定出相应的措施     

河北省实施农产品品牌营销的对策分析

进入二十一世纪,我国农业发展进入一个新阶段,面临新的形势。河北省虽然地理环境优越,农产品资源丰富,但目前普遍存在着品牌观念不强、总体质量不高、安全水平较差、农业生产规模小、科学技术水平低和成本高等问题。尤其是我国加入WTO后,农产品国内市场国际化程度加强,市场竞争日趋残酷,发达国家设置了由严格的质量标准,检验检疫标准和认证制度等构成的绿色壁垒。这些问题直接成为影响河北省农产品国内国际竞争力进一步提高的关键性制约因素,必然对河北省农产品的生产和经营提出了更高、更严的要求。打造农业品牌,发挥品牌效应,重点培育具有国际竞争力的农业产区和优势农产品,是我们积极应对入世挑战、增强国内、国际市场竞争力和提高自身效益的重要途径,也是河北省农业发展到新阶段,在新形势下实现更高层次快速发展的必然选择。     

增强学生心理健康教育实效性的研究

我国中小学心理健康教育已普遍受到关注,各级各类学校相继开始实施,但不少学校缺乏实效性和针对性。需要积极探索,采取措施,切实提高我国中小学心理健康教育的实效性。