Commensurate Rewards Research Articles

The floating duck syndrome: biased social learning leads to effort-reward imbalances.

An increasingly common phenomenon in modern work and school settings is individuals taking on too many tasks and spending effort without commensurate rewards. Such an imbalance of efforts and rewards leads to myriad negative consequences, such as burnout, anxiety and disease. Here, we develop a model to explain how such effort-reward imbalances can come about as a result of biased social learning dynamics. Our model is based on a phenomenon that on some US college campuses is called 'the floating duck syndrome'. This phrase refers to the social pressure on individuals to advertise their successes but hide the struggles and the effort put in to achieve them. We show that a bias against revealing the true effort results in social learning dynamics that lead others to underestimate the difficulty of the world. This in turn leads individuals to both invest too much total effort and spread this effort over too many activities, reducing the success rate from each activity and creating effort-reward imbalances. We also consider potential ways to counteract the floating duck effect: we find that solutions other than addressing the root cause, biased observation of effort, are unlikely to work.

Altruism and hyperaltruism in children of three cultures

Children’s inclination to prioritize others’ welfare over their own (hyperaltruism) was investigated from a developmental and cross-cultural perspective. The distribution of rewarding or aversive items to self and another child was probed in 3- to 14-year-old children (final sample: N = 158; 87 girls) from urban China (n = 51; Mage = 9.1 years, SD = 1.81; 27 girls), urban United States (n = 55; Mage = 8.89 years, SD = 2.18; 30 girls), and rural Samoa (n = 52; Mage = 8.6 years, SD = 2.61; 30 girls). In two counterbalanced conditions, the children were first asked to split either rewards (stickers or treats) or potentially harmful insects (biting bugs) with another child. In a third condition, children were asked to choose various levels of hypothetical pain to be inflicted on either themselves or another child in exchange for commensurate rewards. Results indicated that in conditions where children distributed rewards, older children were more egalitarian (i.e., gave an equal number of candies to self and other) compared with younger children. However, in conditions where they needed to allocate potential harm, older children displayed more altruism (taking more harm onto themselves so that others could be spared). These results varied by culture, where Chinese children showed more altruism, U.S. children were more egalitarian, and Samoan children showed no clear patterns of either egalitarianism or altruism. The results show that although there are some universal trends toward egalitarian and altruistic ways of sharing, significant group differences exist.

The Moderating Role of Perceived Reward on Leadership Style and Policy Involvement Effects on Job Performance Among Pharmaceutical Managers

Management and behavioral sciences literature has established a direct link between rewards and employee performance. However, limited research exists on the role of perceived reward on the effects of policy strategy involvement and leadership style on the performance of pharmaceutical managers. Intuitively, perceived rewards may have a potential impact on the behavior and attitudes of pharmaceutical managers toward work, and invariably job performance. Based on the incentive theory of motivation framework, the study explored the causal effect of leadership style, and policy involvement on job performance, and the moderating effect of perceived reward among pharmaceutical managers. Comparative differences in perception between operational and strategic managers were evaluated. A cross-sectional web-based questionnaire survey of a random stratified sample of managers (103 strategic and 138 operational) engaged in pharmaceutical marketing. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the developed model. Construct validity and fit measures of the hypothetical model were adequate. Policy strategy involvement and leadership style had a positive and significant influence on job performance. Moderation analysis showed that low perceived reward significantly weakened the impact of policy engagement on performance. Integrating improved managers’ involvement with policy and strategy development with commensurate rewards is an incentive strategy to improve managers’ job performance. The study was restricted to only two major managerial groups. More job-related behavioral constructs are required to improve the generalizability of findings, which is suggested for further research.

GT-Chain: A Fair Blockchain for Intelligent Industrial IoT Applications

In Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), a number of mutually untrusted devices with diverse computing resources and application requirements often need to work together to serve industrial production. When applying permissionless blockchain to process transactions among these devices, we are concerned with two types of fairness: mining fairness (i.e., miners should obtain commensurate rewards according to their respective invested computing power) and transaction-processing fairness (i.e., transaction packing and confirming is in a desired fair order). To address the two types of fairness simultaneously, this paper proposes GT-Chain, in which miners select transactions according to <underline xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">G</u> eometric-distribution and propagate transactions with a <underline xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">T</u> ime-to-live limit for achieving transaction-processing fairness as well as balancing the processing efficiency and fairness. Besides, GT-Chain inherits properties of a famous blockchain called FruitChain for achieving mining fairness. We then conduct a probability analysis to quantify the efficiency of transaction processing and define a Euclidean-distance-based fair degree to measure the fairness of transaction processing. Extensive simulations verify that GT-Chain can well achieve our design objectives, and our theoretical model is accurate. This paper is helpful in better designing blockchain protocols for IIoT.

Does the system reward investors for fraud risk? A clinical analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to show that despite the profound and commendable efforts of the SEC staff and many others in the legal system, aimed at combatting a billion-dollar hedge fund manager fraud, the perpetrators were effectively not held accountable for the unlawful conduct and hence did not bear the consequences of the conduct. This case highlights the presence of a significant risk that hedge fund investors are not fully accounting for and very likely not earning a commensurate premium for it. During the 1999–2002 period, Lauer and Associates inflated hedge funds’ valuations, misrepresented the holdings of the funds, shared fake portfolios with investors, did not provide reasonable basis for the excessive valuations of the investee companies and manipulated their security prices. In 2009, Lauer was found guilty of violating anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and was ordered to pay US$18.9m in prejudgment interest and to surrender US$43.6m in ill-gotten gains. Despite the substantial evidence, on 11 April 2011 Lauer was acquitted in federal court, of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Five other associates received light sentences. Yet investors were around US$1.0bn which were never recovered or compensated.Design/methodology/approachThe study applies clinical case analysis. The study produced detailed research and analysis of the of the US based Lancer Management Group fraud case. The focus is on the consequences to investors and other stakeholders in the hedge fund industry.FindingsIn 2009, Lauer was found guilty of violating anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and was ordered to pay US$18.9m in prejudgment interest and to surrender US$43.6m in ill-gotten gains. Despite the substantial evidence, on 11 April 2011 Lauer was acquitted in federal court, of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Five other associates receive light sentences. Yet investors were around US$1.0bn. Investors’ losses were never recovered or compensated.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a clinical case study. It is not an empirical study. Findings should be carefully construed.Practical implicationsThis study directs hedge fund investors and industry stakeholder to the real possibility of not fraud but also to the limited efficacy of the system in terms of providing protection and compensation to investors. Investors and stakeholders must pay close attention in the due diligence process to minimize probability of fraud.Social implicationsHedge fund industry fraud leads to devastating consequences to investors and obviously to their wealth and very possibly adversely impact local economy and community.Originality/valueThis study presents many events that show the extent of the fraud and how it was conducted. This paper shows despite the extensive effort of the regulatory and judicial system, the perpetrators of the fraud were not held accountable for their actions. This case does not point toward a macro system failure. It highlights the presence of a real risk that investors are not accounting for and very likely not earning a commensurate reward for it.

Internal GIG Ecosystem in IT/ITeS Organisations for Non-linear Growth

The Indian IT/ITeS industry is a significant contributor to India’s GDP and has had an impressive growth trajectory. However, it continues to be plagued with talent shortages, managing employee satisfaction, growth aspirations and reducing attrition. COVID-19 has presented an unprecedented opportunity for IT service organisations to transform the established paradigm of working. The industry has been exploring non-linear growth models that address the talent demand-supply gap. With skilled talent shortage continuing to limit the industry growth, non-linear initiatives of growth are urgently required. We propose a model of ‘Internal Gig’ worker (I-GIG) for the IT services industry. The new I-GIG workforce would be providing non-linear outcomes without increasing costs significantly. We also argue that this model would be motivational for employees who opt for it, with commensurate reward motivations to engage them. Additionally, this model would enable the workanywhere, anytime and leverage talent availability on a global scale.

Cascading Effects of COVID-19 on Women in Cardiology.

Cascading Effects of COVID-19 on Women in Cardiology.

Deep Biases Prevent Diverse Talent from Advancing

A new study indicates that underrepresented students in science-related fields are innovating at high rates—but not reaping commensurate rewards.

Sleep deprivation increases the costs of attentional effort: Performance, preference and pupil size

Sleep deprivation (SD) consistently degrades performance in tasks requiring sustained attention, resulting in slower and more variable response times that worsen with time-on-task. Loss of motivation to exert effort may exacerbate performance degradation during SD. To test this, we evaluated sustained performance on a vigilance task, combining this with an effort-based decision-making task and pupillometry. Vigilance was tested at rest and after sleep deprivation, under different incentive conditions (1, 5 or 15 cents for fast responses). Subsequently, preference measures were collected from an effort-discounting task, in which a commensurate reward was offered for maintaining attentional performance for different durations (1, 5, 10, 20 or 30 min). Vigilance was impaired during SD, in a manner modulated by reward value. Preference metrics showed that the value of available rewards was discounted by task duration, an effect compounded by SD. Pupillometry revealed that arousal was modulated during SD in a value-based manner, and moment-to-moment fluctuations in pupil diameter were directly predictive of performance. Together, these data demonstrate that attentional performance can be interpreted within a value-based effort allocation framework, such that the perceived cost of attentional effort increases after sleep deprivation.

ANTECEDENTS OF TRUST TOWARDS THE ATTITUDE OF CHARITABLE ORGANISATION IN MONETARY PHILANTHROPIC DONATION AMONG GENERATION-Y

&#x0D; Monetary philanthropic donation, which is held through charitable organisation (CO), is known as a voluntary contribution in the form of money. The purpose of this donation is to improve public’s welfare, where there is little to no commensurate reward given to the donor. Furthermore, the organisation is fully responsible for the money used for donation. Therefore, an understanding in regards of the donor’s attitude and perception is essential for CO, in order to improve the philanthropic behaviour displayed by the public. Following that, the purpose of this research is to identify the relationship between trust disposition, perceived ability, perceived integrity, perceived benevolence, the attitude towards CO, and the influence of these factors towards young generation behaviour during monetary philanthropic donation. Pertaining to these factors, through self-administered questionnaire, a survey was conducted to collect data from 258 respondents from Generation-Y or Gen-Y in Malaysia. The data was then analysed using SmartPLS 3.2.6. Based on the findings obtained from the survey, it was shown that philanthropic monetary donation held through CO is indirectly influenced by the perceived ability and integrity displayed through the public’s attitude towards CO. Out of all factors, perceived integrity, perceived ability, and perceived benevolence were found to directly influence the attitude displayed by public towards CO. On the contrary, it was a surprising fact that there is a small relation between trust disposition and the public’s attitude towards CO. Besides, the attitude displayed towards CO does not mediate the relationship between trust disposition and philanthropic behaviour. The findings provide valuable insight to scholars, marketing practitioners, and COs in their understanding of the complex philanthropic behaviour shown by individuals.&#x0D;

Sleep deprivation increases the costs of attentional effort: performance, preference and pupil size

Abstract Sleep deprivation (SD) consistently degrades performance in tasks requiring sustained attention, resulting in slower and more variable response times that worsen with time-on-task. Loss of motivation to exert effort may exacerbate performance degradation during SD. To test this, we evaluated sustained performance on a vigilance task, combining this with an effort-based decision-making task and pupillometry. Vigilance was tested at rest and after sleep deprivation, under different incentive conditions (1, 5 or 15 cents for fast responses). Subsequently, preference measures were collected from an effort-discounting task, in which a commensurate reward was offered for maintaining attentional performance for different durations (1, 5, 10, 20 or 30 min). Vigilance was impaired during SD, in a manner modulated by reward value. Preference metrics showed that the value of available rewards was discounted by task duration, an effect compounded by SD. Pupillometry revealed that arousal was modulated during SD in a value-based manner, and moment-to-moment fluctuations in pupil diameter were directly predictive of performance. Together, these data demonstrate that attentional performance can be interpreted within a value-based effort allocation framework, such that the perceived cost of attentional effort increases after sleep deprivation.

Employee Engagement and Performance in Selected Ministries in Anambra State Civil Service of Nigeria

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;This study was necessitated by the inefficiency that has trailed the performance of employees in the Civil Service in Anambra state. The objective of this study is to ascertain the extent to which employee involvement correlates with goal achievement in Anambra State Civil Service. The study employed correlational survey research design, with a population of 684 employees, and a sample size of 252 was determined with the use of Taro Yamane formula of finite population, the questionnaire allocation was determined using Bowley’s proportion allocation formula. The study obtained information from the data using mean and standard deviation. The hypothesis was tested using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient on SPSS version 20, which establishes the extent of the relationship between the variables under consideration. The findings showed that employee involvement has a significant positive relationship with goal achievement in the selected ministries. The researcher recommended that the Civil Service should engage in induction training to specify work roles to each employee, encourage involvement of employees in decision making and feedback should be given on their performance with commensurate reward.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

In good company

Purpose– This paper aims to explore the relationships among perceived organizational support, positive relationships at work and intent to turnover through a social exchange theory lens. The main contribution of this paper is the investigation of different types of positive workplace relationships on employee withdrawal behaviors.Design/methodology/approach– A 49-item survey was developed through a review of literature related to positive workplace relationships and intent to turnover. Surveys were made available to 200 healthcare employees; 73 surveys were accurately completed and used to test a mediated model of positive relationships at work.Findings– Positive relationships at work were found to have a mediating effect between perceived organizational support and intent to turnover. Additionally, perceived organizational support was found to have direct and indirect effects on intent to turnover.Practical implications– Managers can affect employees’ intentions to turnover by improving practices that provide support to employees and encouraging positive relationships with coworkers. Additional literature related to our variables of interest suggests that employees perceive more support when their organizations offer commensurate rewards, opportunities for growth and participation in decision making.Originality/value– This study speaks to those researchers and managers interested in employees’ motivations for staying in or leaving from their organizations. Turnover and related withdrawal behaviors are expensive for organizations, so discovering the factors that members value offers organizations the ability to affect their members’ intentions to turnover. Additionally, the exploration of relationships between perceived organizational support and positive relationships at work suggests that different support mechanisms play different roles in affecting organizational and individual outcomes.

Determinants of Indian sub-continent officer–seafarer retention in the shipping industry

The retention of officer–seafarers within the international shipping industry is a difficult problem facing shipping and ship management companies. One strategic option open to all companies that should improve overall retention is to seek to become an employer of choice by providing an intellectual capital environment attractive to officer–seafarers. This is investigated through a survey of officer–seafarers covering areas where ship management can exercise some control over their working conditions. These cover recognition by their employer and commensurate rewards, organizational culture and structure and building relationships with external parties. Experienced Indian sub-continent officer–seafarers were the sample population resulting in more than 200 valid completions. These were analysed using correlation and regression. Although all hypotheses were in the predicted direction, only four passed the significance test: long-term career prospects, a smooth and fair recruitment process, a better relationship with maritime authorities and an employee-friendly organizational culture. Stepwise regression indicated that only organizational culture had a significant positive effect on intention to remain a seafarer. The items in the organizational culture construct accord with recommendations from the literature on becoming an employer of choice and improving employee retention, providing guidance for attracting and retaining officers.

Implications of the QOF changes for 2011/2012

The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is a system which rewards practices for targeted achievements. It came into effect on 1 April 2004 and lead to a substantial shift in the way that general practice works (NHS Confederation and British Medical Association, 2003). The principles of consistency and high quality, evidence-based care are central to its successful implementation. QOF has been updated annually for a number of years. Some areas are ‘retired’, others are revised, and new areas are put into effect. Practices have the responsibility to change their methodology of working to implement the annual change, and earn a commensurate reward for their success. A significant change in the development of QOF targets has been the way that targets are being realigned to comply with National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE’s) guidance. This aims to make NICE guidance more relevant to the day-to-day working of practices. It will mean that lead practice nurses will have to develop systems to put NICE guidance into practice and to record results. In the new format of the NHS it is planned that the NHS commissioning board will use NICE as its reference point. NICE is planned to have a more prominent role, and published guidance may contribute to important changes in QOF statements for annual revisions.

Can self‐managed superannuation fund trustees earn the equity risk premium?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine whether self‐managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees earn: the equity risk premium or any premium to the riskless rate of interest.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 100 SMSFs, the average annual returns since inception of the funds in the sample are compared with: the average annual equity risk premium since that time and the average yield of Commonwealth Government Securities since that time.FindingsThe investigation reveals: the SMSFs in the sample do not earn the equity risk premium and the SMSFs in the sample did not earn a premium to riskless rate of interest. This leads to the conclusion that the SMSFs have borne risk without commensurate reward. Research limitations/implications – The trustees' rationale for making particular investment decisions and the consistency of the portfolio structures with the risk profiles of the trustees are two areas that may be fruitfully explored in future research.Practical implicationsFor SMSF trustees, a simple portfolio that divides assets between (unmanaged) index funds and risk‐free securities on the basis of trustees' risk aversion may generate better results than the existing portfolios. For policy makers, the relatively poor performance of SMSFs implies that the superannuation system as currently structured may not be generating returns that will maximize retirement incomes.Originality/valueThe paper provides the first comparison of SMSF returns with the equity risk premium and the riskless rate of interest measured at appropriate horizons.

Plants reward seed dispersers in proportion to their effort: The relationship between pulp mass and seed mass in vertebrate dispersed plants

In this paper I develop a null model for the expected relationship between seed mass and the mass of dispersal structure (reward) for vertebrate-dispersed plant species. The model is based on the simple assumption that the reward associated with a given seed mass is commensurate with work required to move it, and predicts that reward mass should scale relative to seed mass with an exponent of 4/3 (1.3). I tested this relationship between- and within-species of vertebrate-dispersed plants from four families from tropical rain forest in north Queensland, Australia. At a community-level there was a significant isometric relationship between log mean pulp mass and log mean seed mass across species. When family membership was considered, the estimate for the common slope between families was 1.32, surprisingly similar to the exponent predicted from commensurate reward. In addition, the 95% CI of the common slope did not include unity, providing no support for isometry. There was also no evidence that the relationships between mean log pulp mass and mean log seed mass were significantly different between families. This simple null model may be a common “rule” governing mean allocation to reward in all plant–animal dispersal mutualisms and its confirmation is the first evidence that animal dispersers have shaped the evolution of seed traits. However, I found no evidence that the scaling relationships within-species were consistently predicted by commensurate reward – a “taxon-level effect”. I suggest that the taxon-level effect arises because mean seed and mean reward mass within each species arises due to community-wide, disperser-mediated selection to produce equally attractive fruits, whereas within-species allometries may be determined by selection for fruit traits that enhance either dispersal probabilities, offspring survival or both, and these will be contingent on the environmental context into which seeds are released.

Editorial

Editorial

Indicators of presidential effectiveness: a study of trustees of higher education institutions

Presidential performance is critical to institutional effectiveness. Therefore, to ensure institutional effectiveness, the board of trustees pays careful attention to the qualifications of individuals hired for the job. To guarantee accountability and commensurate rewards, most boards evaluate their presidents periodically. However, presidential evaluation has a potential to yield negative consequences if poorly conceived and implemented. To reduce the chances of these negative consequences, the goal of this study was to investigate indicators of presidential effectiveness as a basis for shared reasoning among trustees who are charged with the responsibility of hiring, assessing, and compensating college and university presidents. Over 600 trustees in all higher education sections participated in this study. The study shows that: knowledge of higher education; an influence that helps to attract resources; a healthy relationship with key constituents; and effective management skills are important indicators of successful presidents. Some sectoral differences were observed in terms of the significance of indicators of presidential effectiveness. The study concludes with recommendations for presidents, and college and university boards of trustees.

Total customer satisfaction as a business strategy

AbstractThere are two fundamental goals which are universal in business. The first is to grow market share, and the second to grow profits. In order to accomplish these goals, the company must differentiate itself from its competitors, in the customer's view, in one or more of the five following areas: (1) price, (2) delivery, (3) performance, (4) quality, (5) total customer experience.Stressing one area of differentiation to the exclusion of the others will not achieve the goals. For example, in stressing price alone, a company has defined its products as a commodity and as Dev Dion of the Strategic Planning Institute once said, ‘The producers of commodities reap commensurate rewards.’ Similarly, stressing fast delivery of a product of poor quality, or stressing superior quality for a product providing marginally useful performance are both losing strategies.The only strategy I know of which provides equally balanced focus on all five major areas of differentiation is total customer satisfaction, as the fundamental objective of the company. Bob Galvin, when Chairman of Motorola, summed it up by saying, ‘If you take care of the customer better than any of your competition, the business will take care of itself.’ In saying this, however, he meant not only the product, but all of the other ways in which you and the customer interact.