Coercive Factors Research Articles

Human Capital Turnover in the Construction Industry: A Review with Focus on Archies Construction Pvt. Ltd

This present research focuses on identifying the reasons behind the high rates of turnover among staff at Archies Construction Pvt Ltd and how the problem can be solved. Retirement, voluntary or forced termination is equally costly within the construction business as it heavily affects schedule, cost and organizational performance. This research also studies the internal factors referring to human capital theory, namely job satisfaction, reward, and promotion, management support, and the coercive factors including market trends and fluctuations, competition, and regulation. Employing survey and qualitative interviewing methods, the study combines the closed, quantitative survey data collected from employees and qualitative data obtained from the interviews with current and former employees of the company. The study brings out several internal factors that are important drivers of turnover such as lack of satisfaction with leaders, absence of career development in organizations, and poor employee remuneration. The problem is further compounded by external forces like the competition witnessed when seeking for the qualified personnel and the volatility of the market forces. The assessment points out that high turnover rates raise costs of hiring and training, impact project duration and employees’ morale thereby diminishing a firm’s stability. In response to these challenges, it is suggested that the following retention strategies should be adopted: it is proposed that leadership should communicate more effectively with employees; organizations should provide enhanced career progression plans for staff; and organizations should ensure that rewards and remuneration given to employees are competitive. Moreover, an enhancement of the degrees of employee engagement and supportiveness of workplace climate could enhance employee turnover. In other words, by managing both internal and external sources of turnover, it is possible for Archies Construction to maintain a stable workforce, exhibit sound labor productivity and, therefore, improve its performance on projects in general and its financial performance in specific. The study enhances the existing knowledge on HCM in industries that rely on projects and offers best practices for addressing turnover. Further research could focus on changes in economic or technological factors pertaining to workforce retention in the construction industry.

Driving Bureaucracy Towards Post NPM: Case Studies And TNA Item Bank Management

This study aims to analyze the transformation of the New Public Management into the New Public Management within the framework of institutional divergence. The study focuses on the transformation of New Public Management as an institutional phenomenon within the framework of bureaucratic hybridization that results in unique divergences according to the organization. Social actors as the main element of institutional normative coupled with other institutional mimetics have an impact on elaboration patterns of government, affecting efficiency and organization. The case study methodology was chosen to see how the roles of actors in the bureaucracy with the help of Text Network Analysis as a visual and structured confirmation tool. The results show that the hybridization of public management in the bureaucracy needs to go beyond coercive factors to encourage the potential of state apparatus in digital governance towards ideal Post New Public Management. Methodological findings in the form of qualitative research variants that are adaptive to the application of technology can be applied to build strong data validity and reliability. Theoretically, the findings also complement institutional divergence studies that have not yet examined the context of the digital bureaucracy era.

Do innovation attributes really drive the diffusion of management accounting innovations? Examination of factors determining usage intensity of strategic management accounting

PurposeThis study investigates the usage of modern management accounting techniques popularly referred to as “strategic management accounting” (SMA), and the extent to which innovation attributes (namely relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability) determine SMA usage intensity.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data was obtained through a structured questionnaire from 45 out of 56 publicly listed manufacturing companies on the Mainboard of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to analyse data.FindingsWhereas the overall usage rate of SMA as an innovation is generally moderate, there is significant difference in SMA usage intensity across industries in the manufacturing sector due to environmental uncertainty. Compatibility emerged as the strongest determinant of SMA usage intensity, implying that commercial enterprises would intensely apply SMA to remain innovative, to continuously improve and to incorporate strategy in accounting practice in a bid to survive competition. SMA will witness extensive usage if it aligns with the competitive strategies of an organisation.Research limitations/implicationsThe attributes of innovation measured treat all SMA techniques as one, but did not measure relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability for each of the techniques. Future studies may consider investigating how innovation attributes specifically affect each SMA technique. The dimension of compatibility investigated in the study lean towards the alignment of SMA with competitive strategies. Taking into account the multidimensionality of compatibility as an innovation attribute, future studies may examine how past experience of implementing new ideas, as well as compatibility of SMA with corporate culture and value system, affect the dissemination and diffusion of management accounting innovations.Practical implicationsThe paper proposes that although innovation attributes may partly explain SMA usage, coercive factors such as competition and environmental uncertainty may also be responsible for the decision to adopt innovative management accounting practices. The study therefore calls for a critical appraisal of how coercive institutional factors such as competition, regulation and actions of key stakeholders influence the decision of organisations to adopt an innovation.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to knowledge by challenging existing knowledge and presenting evidence that innovation attributes acclaimed to determine the spread of an innovation may be inapplicable in certain settings due to some environmental challenges. The study also contributes to knowledge by developing a composite scale for measuring innovation attributes specifically adapted to management accounting innovation, which can be used in future studies.

The Fewer Insider Poachers, the More Normative Compliance: Clues for Managing Poaching in the Shellfish Sector

ABSTRACT Shellfish poaching is an act of noncompliance with the laws that regulate fisheries governance. In this paper we explored if compliance with shellfishing laws among Galician licensed shellfish-gatherers (NW Spain) is voluntary or motivated by coercive factors. The results reveal that in those communities with a greater degree of compliance, licensed shellfish-gatherers do not poach and comply with the rules voluntarily. The conditions in these communities favor the co-management of resources in such a way that the participation of gatherers in the governance processes, internal cooperation, self-government capacity or participation in enforcement are significantly greater than in communities where there is no compliance. Furthermore, we have explored the perception of the shellfish-gatherers to minimize poaching in their communities. The interviewees distinguished two types of poachers, depending on whether they belong to the shellfishing industry or not. We made recommendations regarding policy to reduce poaching, which combine coercive and normative strategies.

KONFLIK AGRARIA ANTARA PEMERINTAH DENGAN MASYARAKAT DUSUN BONDU DESA ARABIKA KABUPATEN SINJAI

It aims to determine the factors behind the agrarian conflict between the Government and the Community in Bondu Hamlet, Arabica Village and the government's efforts to resolve Agrarian Conflict in Bondu Hamlet, Arabica Village. The results of this study indicate that the agrarian conflict that occurs between the government and the community in Bondu Hamlet, Arabika Village, West Sinjai District, Sinjai Regency is motivated by several factors, namely land ownership, economic factors, legal factors, socialization factors, educational factors, coercive action factors. , policy factor. As for the efforts made by the government to resolve agrarian conflicts, namely conciliation by bringing together the two parties in conflict to achieve common goals, Mediation of dismissal of both parties in conflict but not given a binding decision and Arbitration of a decision taken by issuing a decision letter that must be issued. be obeyed by both parties to the conflict.

Modelling of driving factors for energy efficiency in buildings using Best Worst Method

Rising cost of electricity tariff and climate change in urban habitat is a cause of concern globally. Energy has become a necessity of life for majority of the people in daily routine. A definite part of the household earnings is spent on energy needs like utility bills or as fuel for cooking. In middle-class residential households the use of energy efficiently will lead to conservation of energy and increase in financial gains. To make a residential home energy efficient the factors that leverage the cause of “Energy Efficiency” should be known. This research analyses the factors through a survey of 125 residential homes in a city neighbourhood of southern India. MCDM based Best Worst Method (BWM) is used for analysis of survey results. The results show that the five main factors that act as key drivers of energy efficiency in homes are: Motivation, Education and awareness, coercive factors, Occupant Behavioural and energy saving equipment in homes. Among the 15 subfactors, the top three ranking factors to save energy are: financial motivation, psychological behaviour and inspiration to save energy in homes. The result of this research work emphasizes the high weightage factors are responsible to drive energy efficiency in residential buildings. The practical applications of this research are also discussed.

Coercive Pressures and Anti-corruption Reporting: The Case of ASEAN Countries

This paper aims to investigate the extent of anti-corruption reporting by ASEAN companies and examine whether coercive factors influence the level of disclosure. The authors adopt indicators from the Global Reporting Initiative version 4.0 to measure the extent of anti-corruption disclosures in 117 companies’ reports. Informed by a coercive isomorphism tenet drawn from the institutional theory, the authors propose that several institutional factors influence the extent of their voluntary disclosures. The findings reveal that a large degree of variability difference between the average levels of anti-corruption disclosure in Thailand (434 words) and the Philippines (149 words). The dependence on government tenders and foreign ownership are associated with the level of disclosure. Surprisingly, the United Nation Global Compact membership is not a significant determinant of anti-corruption reporting. This signifies that the membership in the international initiative does not correspond to individual company’s commitment to disclose anti-corruption information. In spite of significant efforts undertaken by global organizations to combat corruption, the level of anti-corruption disclosure is significantly different among the four countries under study. The disclosure of sensitive information such as the confirmed incidences of corruption cases requires careful consideration by the top management as it is subjected to legal implications and reputational risks. Thus, impression management can complement the coercive pressure in explaining the level of anti-corruption reporting. This study is among the first studies which explores the association between coercive factors and the level of anti-corruption disclosure in ASEAN region.

Aggression and Violence, Corrosive Factors of Humanity

Human evolution also carries proliferation of violence. Human violence is on the one hand an innate characteristic resulting from hereditary conditions, and on the other hand is a learned characteristic, determined by individual experience. It is the result of temporal interconnections between biological and social factors; it occurred in a biological context and was expressed in a social environment where the behaviour of individuals formed. The instruments of state social control involve coercive factors that were aimed to discourage, prevent or stop these types of behaviour; however, controlling such behaviours has succeeded as a result of the education level of population, the internalization of norms respectively, because of the specific culture, quality of life and last but not least, due to transgenerational influences. Even if nowadays violence is still used to meet one's needs, for survival, or emerging from egocentrism, etc., it is now clear that violence has taken other forms, impelled by socio-cultural development. In other words, modernity and changes occurred within the social, educational and cultural dimensions do not stop violence, but alter its forms and manner of expression. This paper highlights the importance of rehabilitating social norms and social control, and the need for specific methods to particularly target early intercultural education. How to cite: Lenta, O.E., Cormos. V. C. (2017). Aggression and Violence, Corrosive Factors of Humanity. Postmodern Openings , 8(1), 57-65, http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/po/2017.0801.05

Cultural influences upon advance care planning in a family-centric society.

Advanced care plans (ACPs) are designed to convey the wishes of patients with regards to their care in the event of incapacity. There are a number of prerequisites for creation of an effective ACP. First, the patient must be aware of their condition, their prognosis, the likely trajectory of the illness, and the potential treatment options available to them. Second, patient input into ACP must be free of any coercive factors. Third, the patient must be able to remain involved in adapting their ACP as their condition evolves. Continued use of familial determination and collusion within the local healthcare system, however, has raised concerns that the basic requirements for effective ACP cannot be met. To assess the credibility of these concerns, we employed a video vignette approach depicting a family of three adult children discussing whether or not to reveal a cancer diagnosis to their mother. Semistructured interviews with 72 oncology patients and 60 of their caregivers were conducted afterwards to explore the views of the participants on the different positions taken by the children. Collusion, family-centric decision making, adulteration of information provided to patients, and circumnavigation of patient involvement appear to be context-dependent. Patients and families alike believe that patients should be told of their conditions. However, the incidence of collusion and familial determination increases with determinations of a poor prognosis, a poor anticipated response to chemotherapy, and a poor premorbid health status. Financial considerations with respect to care determinations remain secondary considerations. Our data suggest that ACPs can be effectively constructed in family-centric societies so long as healthcare professionals continue to update and educate families on the patient's situation. Collusion and familial intervention in the decision-making process are part of efforts to protect the patient from distress and are neither solely dependent on cultural nor an "all-or-nothing" phenomenon. The response of families are context-dependent and patient-specific, weighing the patient's right to know and prepare and the potential distress it is likely to cause. In most cases, the news is broken gently over time to allow the patient to digest the information and for the family to assess how well they cope with the news. Furthermore, the actions of families are dependent upon their understanding of the situation, highlighting the need for continued engagement with healthcare professionals.

Community treatment orders – what are the views of decision makers?

Background: Community treatment orders (CTOs) are being increasingly used in Western countries. The scheme implies that mental health patients can live outside a hospital, but still be subject to coercive care to ensure compliance with their treatment. There is limited knowledge of how the scheme is practised.Aims: To gain knowledge of how decision makers weigh and evaluate various considerations when making decisions on CTOs.Method: Qualitative in-depth interviews with decision makers responsible for CTOs in Norway.Results: Decision makers viewed CTOs as a useful scheme to ensure control, continuity and follow-up care in the treatment of outpatients with a history of poor treatment motivation. They had varied interest in and knowledge of the patient’s life situation and how the scheme affects the patient’s everyday life. Little attention was devoted to patient experiences of formal and informal coercion.Conclusion: When deciding on CTOs, decision makers should pay more attention to the negative consequences that patients may experience. In many cases, decision makers are probably not aware of these coercive factors.

Legitimizing amateur status using financial reports: Victorian Football League clubs, 1909–1912

It is generally accepted by historians that in the early twentieth century clubs in Australian Football’s Victorian Football League (VFL) made payments to “amateur” players prior to the legalization of professionalism and that such payments were not disclosed in club financial reports. Previously, financial reports have not been used to support or refute such claims. This article presents findings from a detailed examination of the financial reports and other records of six of the 10 VFL clubs for the years surrounding the legalization of professional football in 1911 (1909–1912). Prior to 1911, most clubs engaged in fraudulent financial reporting practices by misrepresenting player payments as other forms of permitted expenditures, thus concealing prohibited remunerative payments to players within their financial reports. Using isomorphic influences to explain the reasons for this misrepresentation, we conclude that the financial reports were used to legitimate the majority of clubs as amateur organizations. Competing isomorphic pressures, particularly conflicting coercive factors related to the VFL’s prohibition on player payments and normative pressures associated with increasing professionalism amongst players, contributed to clubs engaging in fraudulent financial reporting.

Examining Attitudes about and Influences on Research Participation among Forensic Psychiatric Inpatients

Although a growing body of research has examined various types of coercive practices that may occur among psychiatric patients over the years, almost no attention has been given to coercive influences that may occur specifically in the context of recruitment into research projects. Particularly for those who are institutionalized (e.g., in-patient insanity acquittees), there are significant concerns that their autonomous decision-making to consent or not may be significantly impaired due to the highly restrictive and controlled environment in which they live. This exploratory study sought to examine patients' perceptions of coercive influences by presenting them with hypothetical research vignettes regarding possible recruitment into either a biomedical or social-behavioral research project. Among 148 multi-ethnic male and female participants across two facilities, participants reported relatively minimal perceptions that their autonomous decision-making would be impacted or that various potentially coercive factors (e.g., pressures from staff) would impair their free choice to participate (or not) in such research. To the extent that such perceptions of coercion did occur, they were moderately associated with patients' more general personality traits and attitudinal variables, such as alienation and external locus of control. Limitations of this study and their implications for future research are discussed.

Reasons for delaying or engaging in early sexual initiation among adolescents in Nigeria

BackgroundAnnually, over 1 million births in Nigeria are to teenage mothers. Many of these pregnancies are unwanted and these mothers are also exposed to the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Sexual abstinence is a critical preventative health strategy. Several quantitative studies in Nigeria have identified the correlates and determinants of early sex, yet few have explored in depth the underlying reasons for early sex. This paper explores both the key factors that motivate some unmarried young people to engage in early sex and reasons why some delay.MethodsThis qualitative study was based on data from 30 focus group discussions held with unmarried 14- to 19-year-olds in four geographically and culturally dispersed Nigerian states. Focus groups were stratified by sexual experience to capture variations among different subgroups.ResultsSeveral reasons for early premarital sex were identified. The “push” factors included situations where parents exposed young female adolescents to street trading. “Pull” factors, particularly for males, included the pervasive viewing of locally produced movies, peer pressure and, for females, transactional sex (where adolescent girls exchange sex for gifts, cash, or other favors). Also noted were overtly coercive factors, including rape. There were also myths and misconceptions that “justified” early sexual initiation. Reasons cited for delay included religious injunction against premarital sex; disease prevention (especially HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome); fear of pregnancy, and linked to this, the fear of dropping out of school; and, for females, the fear of bringing shame to the family, which could lead to their inability to get a “good” husband in the future.ConclusionThe differences observed between sexually active and abstinent adolescents were that the latter were more confident, had greater determination, and, most important, deployed refusal skills to delay first sex. Health promoters need to focus attention on educating adolescents in the skills needed to delay sexual debut.

A Conceptual Framework on the Factors Influencing Kenyan Consumers to Adopt or Accept Mobile Commerce

The factors that influence the adoption of mobile commerce in Kenya are yet to be resolved. Responding to the information gap on m-commerce, this paper conducts an evaluation of some of the commonly accepted factors that affect adoption. Specifically; this study seeks to address the adoption question using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). However, the model has been extended to reflect the coercive factors motivating Kenyans to adopt m-commerce.

Winning All the Battles

Winning All the Battles Robert L. O'Connell (bio) In 264 B.C. Carthage, the most economically dynamic polity in the Mediterranean basin, blundered into war with Rome, the region's most relentlessly militaristic power. It was a terrible mistake. For unlike in our own time when power is a complex equation of economic, cultural, and coercive factors, military strength then inevitably trumped wealth, and after a succession of three Punic wars, lasting over a century, Carthage would be utterly obliterated, virtually expunged from the face of history. Had the city quit after the first war, essentially a naval extravaganza lasting twenty-three years, Rome might well have acquiesced to Carthage's continued existence. But it was the fate of the city, which had previously been dominated by merchants and agro-businessmen, to suffer an unexpected outcropping of military talent, and this sealed its doom. They were the Barcids, a clan of generals in a town of admirals, a family whose abilities, aggressiveness, and, above all, hatred of Rome allowed them to dominate Punic politics and keep the suicidal grudge match going. The first prominent member, Hamilcar, had been the best Carthaginian general in the initial conflict with Rome. But, unhappy with the peace terms, he abandoned his mercenary army, which then revolted against Carthage, leading to a terrible civil war that ended only after their original commander annihilated the rebels. Likely now a controversial figure in Carthage, Hamilcar received permission to march his new army across North Africa to Spain, where he would establish a family enclave based on local gold and silver mines. Accompanying him was his nine-year-old son Hannibal, from whom he extracted an oath of eternal enmity against Rome—a curse that would chart the boy's future. For it was this Hannibal in 218 B.C. who led the army he inherited from his father across one of the highest passes in the Alps and invaded Italy. Staging the assault from his family's base in Spain, now an empire within an empire, he dragged Carthage into an entirely problematic war with Rome, one that would have been destined for a quick and disastrous end had it not been for one factor: Hannibal himself. Almost immediately he gathered his bedraggled, freeze-dried near-wreck of an army and led them to two sharp victories over the Romans, the last one at the River Trebia wiping out most of a major consular army. He followed that up the next spring by luring another consular army into a trap set along the shores of Lake Trasimene, staging the most lethal single ambush in Western military history. By now he had Rome's full attention. The hyperwarlike city on the Tiber, destined soon to rule the Mediterranean world, responded by fielding a crusher of a field force, basically four consular armies welded haphazardly together, and invited Hannibal to fight that. With breathtaking guile on August 2, 216 B.C., he surrounded it on a plain near the abandoned town of Cannae, and then over the course of an afternoon chopped it to bits, killing that day more men than the United States lost in combat during the entire Vietnam conflict. Click for larger view View full resolution From William O'Connor Morris, Hannibal (London, 1897). For the first and only time he had a chance to win the war. Maharbal, his audacious cavalry commander, urged him to march on Rome immediately, arriving before the shock from Cannae could subside, but the boss hedged and the moment was lost. Instead, Hannibal assumed that the authorities on the Tiber would be ready to talk terms and sent a delegation, only to have them thrown back in his face. Rome was just getting started. The battlescarred veterans who ran the Senate had faith in their alliances and understood Rome's central advantage. In the words of Fabius Maximus, the city's shrewdest military leader: "We are carrying on war in Italy, in our own country … Hannibal, on the other hand, is in a foreign and hostile land.… Do you doubt that we shall get the better of a man who is growing weaker by the day?" So Rome kept...

Female reproductive strategies in orangutans, evidence for female choice and counterstrategies to infanticide in a species with frequent sexual coercion.

Intersexual conflicts over mating can engender antagonistic coevolution of strategies, such as coercion by males and selective resistance by females. Orangutans are exceptional among mammals for their high levels of forced copulation. This has typically been viewed as an alternative mating tactic used by the competitively disadvantaged unflanged male morph, with little understanding of how female strategies may have shaped and responded to this behaviour. Here, we show that male morph is not by itself a good predictor of mating dynamics in wild Bornean orangutans but that female conception risk mediated the occurrence and quality of male-female interactions. Near ovulation, females mated cooperatively only with prime flanged males who they encountered at higher rates. When conception risk was low, willingness to associate and mate with non-prime males increased. Our results support the hypothesis that, together with concealed ovulation, facultative association is a mechanism of female choice in a species in which females can rarely avoid coercive mating attempts. Female resistance, which reduced copulation time, may provide an additional mechanism for mate selection. However, coercive factors were also important as prime males were frequently aggressive to females and females used mating strategies consistent with infanticide avoidance.

The Territorial Strategy of the Italian City-State

Long-term studies of European history address the origins and evolution of state territoriality. Some scholars have suggested that the late medieval revival of European cities engendered variation in this region's territorial practices. However, their work struggles to explain the origins, nature and demise of the territorially `fragmented' Italian city-states. This study addresses this gap by shifting focus from the city's economic functions to the state-building process occurring within Italian urban walls. It shows that Italian rulers deliberately `centralised' their resources to challenge the violent actors and military installations that had become concentrated in town. This analysis strengthens the argument that coercive factors drove the early evolution of European territoriality. The work uses these findings to create fresh lines of inquiry for research on variation in modern territorial forms.

Research Note: Ethics of Drug Treatment Research with Court-Supervised Subjects

The last two decades have seen an acceleration of clinical research on, and treatment advances in, addictive illness. Much important research in this area requires the participation of subjects who themselves suffer from drug dependence and have a strong likelihood of becoming involved in the criminal justice system at some point. However, using court-supervised persons with addictive disorders in drug research raises a number of significant ethical issues. These include, among others, worries about the individual's ability to provide capable, voluntary, informed consent and the obligation of researchers to safeguard sensitive clinical information. A variety of potentially coercive factors can influence court-supervised persons in their decision whether to enter research and can compromise their ability to provide informed consent. In this paper, we explore the ethical issues arising in this research and offer some suggestions for approaches to address these concerns.

Towards a bad end: The ethics of intervention in the former Yugoslavia

The United States’ intervention, diplomatically and militarily, in former Yugoslavia demonstrates the complexities of social justice in post‐Cold War Europe. Nominally an action to support ‘vital’ American interests, intervention equally involved a moral and ethical choice to leverage military technology and to prevent the spread of Balkan violence. Ethical politics, as Reinhold Niebuhr defines it, is an area where conscience and power meet, where ethical and coercive factors ‘interpenetrate’ in an uneasy compromise. Whether or not the will to a political ethic is sufficient to bring social justice to the former Yugoslavia remains unclear.

Employment Relations and the Labor Market: Integrating Institutional and Market Perspectives

From a market perspective, workers' access to bureaucratic personnel structures at work is related to the transferability of their occupational skills. An institutional perspective emphasizes normative and coercive factors like union power, establishment size, occupational status, and extent of government employment. Building on these two perspectives, we examine the impact of an occupation's external marketthe extent to which it offers systematic within-occupation movement among employers on internal job mobility and protection structures and the availability of grievance procedures. Data from a sample of Chicago workers and their employers confirm aspects of both market and institutional theory. Results also support our core hypothesis, that incumbents of occupations embedded in strong external markets are less likely to have these governance structures available.