Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This ...briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
The study found that high-performance work systems (HPWS) mediate the relationship between business strategy and employees intention to leave (ITL). The two effective approaches were “quality management” and “innovation strategy”, both of which reinforced the adoption of HPWS.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
Collaborative work among students, while an important topic of inquiry, needs further treatment as we still lack the knowledge regarding obstacles that students face, the strategies they apply, and ...the relations among personal and group aspects. This article presents a diary study of 54 master’s students conducting group projects across four semesters. A total of 332 diary entries were analysed using the C5 model of collaboration that incorporates elements of communication, contribution, coordination, cooperation and collaboration. Quantitative and qualitative analyses show how these elements relate to one another for students working on collaborative projects. It was found that face-to-face communication related positively with satisfaction and group dynamics, whereas online chat correlated positively with feedback and closing the gap. Managing scope was perceived to be the most common challenge. The findings suggest the varying affordances and drawbacks of different methods of communication, collaborative work styles and the strategies of group members.
This study compares the learning results of three groups of secondary two (grade eight) students of a similar academic standard who participated in a teaching intervention involving different ...pedagogies. One hundred and forty-nine Hong Kong secondary students were chosen and divided into three groups, “whole-class teaching approach”, “group work with no specific strategies” and “group work with effective strategies”, to study the “space travel” unit in their science curriculum. The first group was exposed to traditional whole-class instruction, and the latter two practised collaborative group work, with the third adopting four effective strategies derived from a UK-based quasi-experimental project. Analyses of the pre- and post-diagnostic assessments and audiotaped discussions revealed that group work comprising effective strategies not only raised students’ test scores, but also enhanced their joint construction of conceptual knowledge in science. The findings suggest that the effective strategies adopted in this study are contributory factors to superior student accomplishments and a stronger desire to seek clarification accruing from shared cognitive activities.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the work strategies adopted by leading Indian IT companies post COVID-19 and their institutional and individual level implications. Following the exploratory ...sequential mixed-method approach, in the first phase, the data were collected from 8 leading IT companies in India to understand the work strategies implemented post COVID -19 to ensure employees’ safety without disrupting client deliverables. In the second phase, the primary qualitative interviews were conducted and selected IT companies' financial statements with a systematic analysis of financial indicators were used to gauge the impact of new work strategies. The study reveals the selected IT companies were embracing Work-From-Home or Work-From-Anywhere as their work strategies by ensuring little to no disruption, were armed with a host of technology tools that allowed employees' swathes to new work-norm within hours. The study findings manifold implications of the new work-norm are that it has no negative impact on the companies' client deliverables and profitability. The paper confirms that the remote-working approach has resulted in reduced carbon footprint, work-life balance, and de-urbanization while identifying the flip side of this approach as the negative impact on team cohesiveness and employee emotional wellbeing. This research confirms the critical lesson learned from COVID-19 is agile companies must plan for a range of incomprehensible contingencies to ensure business continuity and growth. The research findings contribute towards understanding the Indian IT sector experiences in adopting the remote-work strategies and taken as lessons that can be useful for other global IT sectors.
In Sweden and elsewhere, work strategies have gained greater significance in social policy, and now also in settlement programs for refugees. This article addresses the level of practice of the ...refugee settlement program in Sweden, which previously emphasized ‘support’ and ‘social responsibility’, but now emphasizes ‘activation’ and ‘individual responsibility’. Through an analysis of interviews and individual action plans, we investigate how activation is put into practice in the work activities of refugee settlement and how employment officials and refugees articulate and experience the role that activation plays in refugees’ integration processes. The conclusion drawn is that activation is a central feature, but it involves conditionalizing elements that are used as the means to emphasize ‘work’ as the route to integration and to keep the ‘less employable’ refugees activated. The activation techniques applied require refugees to demonstrate that they are taking responsibility for their integration process and for increasing their employability.
The problem and the solution. Virtual human resource development (VHRD) is just beginning to be defined in the field of human resource development. This article explores how knowledge management, ...organizational culture, and intranets combine to create VHRD, with implications for training, career, and organizational development. A conclusion is that VHRD is not a panacea but must be designed with care and purpose.
In Britain, there is much concern in policy and public discourse about immigrant integration and social cohesion. But how do immigrants themselves perceive the process of settlement in the UK? This ...question is examined through exploration of the work strategies developed by Ghanaian immigrants in London in their quest to live a decent life. We explore three issues: how Ghanaians negotiate relations of power in developing viable work strategies in London; how those strategies are shaped or mediated by family, community ties and social networks; and how Ghanaians themselves define and live 'integration' and cohesion. Our results indicate that some Ghanaians experience a 'levelling' process in their work lives in London, where they continually juggle between job exploitation, racism and inadequate pay. In addition, Ghanaians maintain strong family and community ties, a tradition carried over from Ghana. Distinct from the idea that weak ties outside one's community are likely to provide the most relevant and adequate information and resources, we found that weak ties within the community provide the same function. Finally, immigrants tend to define 'integration' differently to 'sense of belonging'.
S ciljem ispitivanja razlika u uspješnosti učenja učenika koji nastavu biologije
provode radeći kroz aktivne strategije u blok-satu (dvosatu) ili pojedinačnim satovima
(dva sata tjedno) tijekom 2007. ...i 2008. godine provedeno je istraživanje na uzorku
od 108 učenika sedmih razreda osnovne škole. Istraživanje se sastojalo od provedbe
nastavnog sata na odabranu nastavnu temu po usklađenoj pripremi uz inicijalnu i
završnu pismenu provjeru znanja zatvorenog tipa. Provjeravana je usvojenost nastavnih
tema „Praživotinje“, „Alge“ i „Gljive“ na dvjema kognitivnim razinama: reprodukcijsko
znanje kao najniža razina te konceptualno razumijevanje i primjena znanja kao viša
razina znanja. Utvrđeno je da su učenici blok-sata aktivne nastave imali bolji prosječni
uspjeh u inicijalnoj i završnoj provjeri znanja u odnosu na učenike pojedinačne
nastave. Učenici blok-sata aktivne nastave ostvarili su bolju riješenost prve i druge
kognitivne razine u objema provjerama znanja u odnosu na učenike pojedinačnog
sata aktivne nastave. Kod obiju skupina učenika uočena je bolja ostvarenost prve
kognitivne razine u odnosu na drugu u završnoj provjeri znanja.
This study uses data from an experimental employment program and instrumental variables (IV) estimation to examine the effects of maternal job loss on child classroom behavior. Random assignment to ...the treatment at one of three program sites is an exogenous predictor of employment patterns. Cross-site variation in treatment-control differences is used to identify the effects of employment levels and transitions. Under certain assumptions, this method controls for unobserved correlates of job loss and child well-being, as well as measurement error and simultaneity. IV estimates suggest that maternal job loss sharply increases problem behavior but has neutral effects on positive social behavior. Current employment programs concentrate primarily on job entry, but these findings point to the importance of promoting job stability for workers and their children.
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