Competitive Climate Research Articles

The Naked Truth: Temptation and the Likely ‘Fall’ of Catholic Education

This article highlights one likely ‘fall’ to which Catholic education is susceptible in the modern era due to the oppressive climate in which it operates. Our critical method in arguing for this position is to oscillate between two texts—one written and one visual: Genesis 3: 1–18 and Masaccio’s painting of ‘The Expulsion’. The hope is that one will inform and enrich a deeper understanding of the other. As part of this exercise in creative hermeneutics, we first argue that the dramatic story of the fall through pride or amor sui (self-love) and its resultant feeling of shame is a universal one in which readers (listeners) glimpse the long history of their own fears and desires. Second, we show how one 15th century Italian painter represented the tragic consequences of the Faustian self by examining Masaccio’s painting in some detail. Third, we investigate St. Augustine’s writings on this narrative and suggest how some forms of self-elevation align dangerously with the promotion of the autonomous self in contemporary education. We also critically examine exegetical writings from Jewish and Christian perspectives to draw out further meanings of the narrative. Fourth, we point to the themes of hiding and forgiveness embedded in the account which leads us neatly into the last fifth section where we discuss the text’s implications for contemporary Catholic education. Here, the focus is on one likely ‘fall’ of Catholic education when it fails to live up to its distinctive mission to place love unconditionally at its centre. In a highly market-driven, managerial climate of competition where league tables, bureaucratisation, and data analysis assume an overwhelming significance allied to institutional survival and kudos, the temptation is to show the worth of the school by emphasising its examination success and employment rates rather than through its service to others, especially those who have been forgotten. Although we are highly sensitive to the conflictual demands on Catholic institutions at the present time from a variety of stakeholders, we conclude that their healthy continuation depends on their public, ethical avowal to love everyone unreservedly with assistance from God’s grace and when this aspiration fails, to seek forgiveness. The article is not concerned with strategies of resistance against those developments in education contrary to a Catholic philosophy.

The Effects of Role Conflict on Job Satisfaction: The Moderating Roles of Trait Competitiveness and the Competitive Climate Coupled with the Mediating Role of Cognitive Dissonance

본 연구는 조직구성원이 조직에서 요구받는 역할과 실제 수행하고자 하는 역할 간 갈등을 의미하는 역할갈등에 초점을 맞추어 역할갈등이 조직구성원의 직무만족에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 역할갈등과 직무만족 간 관계를 매개하는 변수로 인지부조화를 제시하였는데, 이를 통해 역할갈등이 구체적으로 어떤 프로세스를 거쳐 조직구성원의 직무만족에 영향을 미치는 지에 대하여도 검증하였다. 본 연구는 역할갈등과 인지부조화 간의 관계를 분석함에 있어서 구성원 개인의 경쟁성향과 구성원이 속해 있는 팀내 경쟁풍토가 영향을 미칠 것으로 보고, 개인 경쟁성향과 팀내 경쟁풍토에 대한 조절효과에 대한 가설을 수립하고 검증하였다. 역할갈등이 인지부조화를 통해서 직무만족에 이르는 간접효과가 개인 경쟁성향과 팀내 경쟁풍토의 정도에 따라 다를 것으로 생각하고 조절된 매개효과를 분석하였다. 가설검증을 위해 D지역의 공기업과 사기업 구성원들을 대상으로 246부의 자료를 수집하여 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 역할갈등은 직무만족을 낮추고, 인지부조화가 두 변수를 매개하는 것으로 나타났다. 조절효과에 대한 가설 중, 팀내 경쟁풍토의 조절효과에 대한 가설은 지지되었으나, 개인 경쟁성향의 조절효과에 대한 가설은 기각되었다. 개인 경쟁성향과 팀내 경쟁풍토의 조절된 매개효과에서도 팀내 경쟁풍토의 가설은 지지되었으나, 개인 경쟁성향의 가설은 지지되지 않았다. 이와 같은 분석결과를 통해 본 연구는 직무만족을 촉진하기 위해 역할갈등의 관리가 중요함을 확인하였다. 인지부조화의 매개역할과 개인 경쟁성향 및 팀내 경쟁풍토의 조절된 매개변수 역할을 확인함으로써 역할갈등이 직무만족에 미치는 새로운 경로의 연구로써 이해의 폭을 확장하였다.

PILKADA CALON TUNGGAL DI KABUPATEN PATI TAHUN 2017: SUATU TINJAUAN OLIGARKISME PARPOL

The phenomenon of a single candidate lately happens a lot in Indonesia, especially in the sphere of local election democratic parties. In the elections held simultaneously in Indonesia in 2017, many regions in the elections were only attended by one candidate pair. This makes the climate of competition in democracy not as expected with democracy. Democracy aims to make elite circulation happen, so that the ruling elite does not dominate so that it becomes an oligarchy. Democracy can turn into an oligarchy if a small group of groups dominates and tries to maintain power in order to remain in the circle of power. We have encountered many oligarchs in political parties, where the DPP of political parties determines the direction of political parties, even in determining the candidates to be carried by political parties in the elections and political lobbying in forming coalitions. The author uses the theory of iron oligarchy Robert Michels as an analytical aid. The research method uses descriptive qualitative research methods in explaining the phenomena that occur. Research data obtained through in-depth interviews with informants. The results show that the phenomenon of a single candidate is not always due to the high electability of a candidate pair, it can also occur because of the dominant oligarchy in political parties at the central level affects to the regional level.

A Case Study of Mrs. Bector Food Specialties Ltd

Purpose: In these days, women are exhibiting their entrepreneurial spirit and competencies. They have come to the forefront of development process and have proved themselves successful in their multitasking roles at home and office. Entrepreneurship among women improves the wealth of their families and the nation as well. Some women have managed to break the proverbial glass ceiling against the odd and have established their businesses successfully in food processing sector. Women are more inclined for food processing enterprises since they spend most of their time in the kitchen normally. Many women have the expertise in preparing new cuisines, so they start small and grow further to become a much acclaimed food processing entrepreneurs. The food processing industry in India has great potential and it brings about the synergy between the consumer, industry and agriculture. Therefore, there is a need to inspire, encourage, motivate and co-operate with women entrepreneurs for developing the spirit of enterprise among every segment of the society. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the success story of Mrs. Bector in the food processing sector and the challenges faced by her. This study proved that Mrs. Bectors Food Specialties Ltd. owned by Mrs. Bector, based at Punjab has enough growth opportunities but to sustain itself in the market, the company has to pursue more competitive strategies to widen the operations and customer base. Design: For the purpose of analysis, this study used secondary data sources - open access journals, Google, Google scholar and Mrs. Bectors Food Specialties Ltd. websites. Furthermore, the literature is used to analyze the position of this company within SWOC framework and Michael Porter’s Five Forces analysis. Findings: Based on the analysis, it is suggested that Mrs. Bectors Food Specialties Ltd. has to expand its business beyond northern India and initiate campaign for its brand awareness. The study concludes that Mrs. Bectors Food Specialties Ltd.’s competitive pricing strategy is clearly defined to capture the market, but more proper execution of strategies is required to thrive in a competitive climate. Value: This paper focuses on the growth of Mrs. Bector Food Specialties Ltd. in terms of its current status and future opportunities. Based on findings and their interpretation, new knowledge in the form of suggestions is presented. Paper Type: Case study-based Research Analysis

A Case Study of Mrs. Bector Food Specialties Ltd

Purpose: In these days, women are exhibiting their entrepreneurial spirit and competencies. They have come to the forefront of development process and have proved themselves successful in their multitasking roles at home and office. Entrepreneurship among women improves the wealth of their families and the nation as well. Some women have managed to break the proverbial glass ceiling against the odd and have established their businesses successfully in food processing sector. Women are more inclined for food processing enterprises since they spend most of their time in the kitchen normally. Many women have the expertise in preparing new cuisines, so they start small and grow further to become a much-acclaimed food processing entrepreneurs. The food processing industry in India has great potential and it brings about the synergy between the consumer, industry and agriculture. Therefore, there is a need to inspire, encourage, motivate and co-operate with women entrepreneurs for developing the spirit of enterprise among every segment of the society. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the success story of Mrs. Bector in the food processing sector and the challenges faced by her. This study proved that Mrs. Bectors Food Specialties Ltd. owned by Mrs. Bector, based at Punjab has enough growth opportunities but to sustain itself in the market, the company has to pursue more competitive strategies to widen the operations and customer base. Design: For the purpose of analysis, this study used secondary data sources - open access journals, Google, Google scholar and Mrs. Bectors Food Specialties Ltd. websites. Furthermore, the literature is used to analyze the position of this company within SWOC framework and Michael Porter’s Five Forces analysis. Findings: Based on the analysis, it is suggested that Mrs. Bectors Food Specialties Ltd. has to expand its business beyond northern India and initiate campaign for its brand awareness. The study concludes that Mrs. Bectors Food Specialties Ltd.’s competitive pricing strategy is clearly defined to capture the market, but more proper execution of strategies is required to thrive in a competitive climate. Value: This paper focuses on the growth of Mrs. Bector Food Specialties Ltd. in terms of its current status and future opportunities. Based on findings and their interpretation, new knowledge in the form of suggestions is presented. Paper Type: Case study-based Research Analysis

A Research on the Priming Mechanism of Workplace Loneliness from the Perspective of LMX Social Comparison

In organizations, leaders and subordinates often have different qualities of LMX, which is more common and salient, especially in Chinese collectivist and relationship-oriented culture. Employees with high LMX are easy to get more resources and support, while those with low LMX tend to get the opposite. At the same time, employees will compare their LMX to that of their colleagues and thus form a perception of relative LMX（called LMXSC）, which tends to have a greater impact on employees’ psychology and behavior than absolute LMX quality. Given this understanding, this paper attempts to reveal the process and mechanism of the impact of LMXSC on employees’ workplace loneliness. Combined with the social comparison theory and the relative deprivation theory, we propose a research model of LMXSC, competitive climate, relative deprivation and workplace loneliness, and construct the hypothesis based on the model.We collected data in two time points. Through the analysis of 689 valid samples, it is found that LMXSC has a significant negative effect on workplace loneliness directly; at the same time, LMXSC induces workplace loneliness indirectly by influencing individuals’ relative deprivation. When the competitive climate of departments or teams is higher, LMXSC will have a stronger impact on workplace loneliness through relative deprivation.This paper has three theoretical contributions: Firstly, we introduce a new theoretical perspective on the study of the trigger mechanism of workplace loneliness. From the perspective of social comparison, we confirm that not only the absolute quality of social relations（LMX）affects individual workplace loneliness, but also relative social relationship quality（LMXSC）is an important inducement to workplace loneliness. Secondly, this paper reveals a new mechanism of workplace loneliness inducing process. From the perspective of relative deprivation, it reveals the process mechanism of LMXSC on workplace loneliness. Thirdly, the boundary conditions for the impact of LMXSC on employees’ negative feelings are extended. In a highly competitive climate, LMXSC will have a stronger inhibitory effect on workplace loneliness.These findings remind organizational leaders that while optimizing the allocation of relationship resources, they should be aware of the possible adverse effects of LMXSC, and actively take measures to improve employee relations within the organization. Firstly, leaders in a team or department should try to treat subordinates in a fairer way, to leave employees with the impression that all team members have similar relationships with the leader. This measure can reduce the experience of relative disadvantages after comparing among coworkers. Secondly, on the premise of not hurting other employees, leaders should try their best to meet the emotional and relational needs of the most important core employees in the organization, to prevent these employees from feeling lonely in the workplace to the greatest extent. Thirdly, leaders should take various measures to build an environment of friendship, mutual support and win-win cooperation.

The influences of cooperative climate, competitive climate and customer empowerment on service creativity

To extend the relationship between customer empowerment and creativity, this study explores the mediating effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (individual level). The study aims to clarify whether cooperative and competitive climates influence service creativity through intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (across level). A matching sample of 333 coaches and customers from 30 stores in the fitness industry was used to examine the study hypotheses by employing Mplus 8.3 statistical software. The results show that (1) customer empowerment and cooperative climate have significant positive effects on service creativity (that is, the service creativity of coaches); (2) the intrinsic motivation of coaches mediates the relationship between customer empowerment and service creativity; and (3) the intrinsic motivation of coaches mediates the relationship between cooperative climate and service creativity, but the mediating mechanism of extrinsic motivation does not exist in the relationship between competitive climate and service creativity.

Testing for Prohibited Substances in Rural Agricultural Show Exhibits: A Twenty-Three Year Experience.

The administration of prohibited substances has been used in agricultural show competitions and animal racing industries to gain unfair competitive advantages. We report the first large prospectively designed descriptive study of drug testing in four species (n = 1,598) over a 23 year period. 4.7% of tested exhibits returned positive results. Commonly detected substances included legitimate veterinary therapeutics such as the sedative acepromazine and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone. Targeted testing was more likely to return a positive result than random screening (50 vs 4.7% respectively) although numbers in this targeted sample were small (n = 12). Random drug testing programs were successful in detecting the minority of exhibits using prohibited substances although a wide variety of drugs were found to be used. Further vigilance and research is required in an ever-changing competitive climate to remain at the forefront of detecting new medications in animal show competitions.

Envy climate and group performance in full-service hotels: the roles of intragroup relationship conflict and competitive climate

PurposeThe extant literature mainly focuses on the antecedents and outcomes of envy at the individual level. Workgroups have become ideal units for research on envy given the ubiquitous teamwork in organizations. This study aims to examine whether, how and when envy climate can influence group performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyzed data collected in three waves from a sample of 72 groups with 475 team members in full-service hotels in China.FindingsEnvy climate was negatively associated with group performance via intragroup relationship conflict. Furthermore, competitive climate moderated the effect of envy climate on intragroup relationship conflict and the indirect effect of envy climate on group performance through intragroup relationship conflict.Practical implicationsThe present research offers organizations valuable insights into how to minimize the climate of envy and competition within a group and relieve the relationship conflict that may damage group performance.Originality/valueDrawing on a social functional perspective of emotions, this study enriches the envy research by conceptualizing envy climate as a collective perception and clarifying its effect on group performance. The authors extend the understanding of envy climate by showing how a climate of envy embedded in a group influences group performance and also explain when group members may be more likely to act in a destructive way to respond to such a climate.

The Impact of Digital Technologies on Employee Performance and Strain: An Experience Sampling Study

New digital technologies, originally introduced to enhance productivity, not always live up to expectations when being introduced in organizations. To gain a better understanding of the contingencies determining the performance-related consequences of employees’ use of digital technologies, we draw on organizational information processing theory and literature on technostress. We examine task type and technology induced competitive climate as moderators of the digital technology use – employee performance relationship. We test our conceptualization using an experience-sampling study with 709 daily observations nested in 104 employees and perform various robustness checks to control for methodological issues such as endogeneity or autocorrelation. The results advise managers that a technology-induced competitive climate is conducive to effective technology deployment in creative tasks, but detrimental in analytical tasks.

Interpreting the Hunger Games: Introducing Forced Competition Theory

The effects of abusive leadership have been studied in many ways, most heavily exploring effects on employee attitudes, performance, and behavior. Uniquely, this research focuses on individual or workgroup performance rather than the potential impact on interpersonal relationships and treatment or the types of climates resulting from different types of abusive supervision. This paper introduces the construct of Forced Competition, in which a supervisor pits unwilling employees against each other in a competition within their workgroup. This concept therefore integrates literature on abusive supervision, competition, and organizational climate to propose a theory of employee behavior and climate development. This paper introduces a model illustrating two potential paths of behavior and workgroup climates that may emerge because of this type of abusive supervisor behavior: a climate of distrust or a climate of healthy competition. Further, I propose an important moderator that influences which of these climates are likely to emerge: the severity of the competition outcome.

The Effects of Web-Based Technologies on Marketing Activities of Professional Sports Clubs

The global market’s economic growth has been boosted by the size of the sports industry, which now has a budget in the billions of dollars. Sports marketing has emerged as a result of this growth in the sports industry. Sports marketing has emerged as the most important feature of sports companies, having grown in importance as a scientific discipline. Inside the industry, sports clubs have started to search for ways to increase their market share in both national, and foreign markets.The industry’s ongoing growth has resulted in an increase in the number of goods, and services available, as well as a competitive climate. The purpose of this study is to identify innovations in web-based technology used by sports clubs to market their goods, and services to target audiences.The research was carried out in accordance with the standards of qualitative research. Search engines, blogs, forums, podcasts, press bulletins, e-mail, and content sharing sites are the most commonly used web-based technologies by sports clubs, according to the results of the study.

Analysis of West Java Export Leading Product Competitiveness

This study aims to determine the analysis of the competitiveness of export products in West Java for the 2015-2019 period. The analysis used in this research is comparative advantage index analysis using Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA). By using the comparative advantage index analysis per commodity in West Java, the results show that most of the superior products in West Java have not experienced significant changes, but there will be some products that have decreased competitiveness (comparative). The low competitiveness of superior products in West Java is caused by several things, such as the non-conducive macro economy, weak technology development, weak competitive climate (micro); and the inaccuracy of the business development strategy implemented by business actors and other shareholders. In addition to these things, there are several inhibiting factors in increasing the competitiveness of West Java's leading export products, among others, unsettled production factors, poor institutional factors, and the relationship and utilization of supporting industries that have not been maximized.

Do self-monitors experience less emotional exhaustion? Testing the role of supervisor-rated performance and perceived competitive climate

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine frontline employees' self-monitoring personality as an antecedent of their emotional exhaustion and how supervisor-rated performance mediates this relationship. In addition, the authors explored the moderating role of perceived competitive climate on the indirect relationship between self-monitoring and emotional exhaustion.Design/methodology/approachTwo hundred and thirty-seven frontline employees and their immediate supervisors working in hospitality organizations responded to the survey using time lagged research design. Measurement model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis to assess the distinctiveness of study constructs, and proposed moderated mediation model was tested using Process macro.FindingsResults show that high self-monitoring leads to high supervisor-rated performance, and this relationship is stronger in highly competitive work climate. The supervisor-rated performance was negatively related to emotional exhaustion.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the interaction effects of self-monitoring and perceived competitive climate on frontline employees' performance and emotional exhaustion, particularly in the frontline jobs. Supervisor-rated performance has not been previously theorized or researched as an underlying mechanism of the effect of self-monitoring on emotional exhaustion.

Economic Inequality Increases Status Anxiety Through Perceived Contextual Competitiveness.

Status anxiety, the constant concern about individuals’ position on the social ladder, negatively affects social cohesion, health, and wellbeing (e.g., chronic stress). Given previous findings showing that status anxiety is associated with economic inequality, we aimed in this research to test this association experimentally. A cross-sectional study (Study 1) was run in order to discard confounding effects of the relationship between perceived economic inequality (PEI) and status anxiety, and to explore the mediating role of a competitive climate (N = 297). Then we predicted that people assigned to a condition of high inequality would perceive more status anxiety in their social context, and they would themselves report higher status anxiety. Thus, in an experimental study (Study 2) PEI was manipulated (N = 200). In Study 1, PEI uniquely predicted status anxiety, and perceived competitiveness mediated the relationship. In Study 2 PEI increased perceived contextual status anxiety, a specific form of perceived competitiveness based on socioeconomic status (SES). Moreover, preliminary evidence of an indirect effect was found from PEI to personal status anxiety, through (higher) perceived contextual status anxiety. These preliminary findings provide experimental evidence for the effects of economic inequality on status anxiety and the mechanism involved. Economic inequality makes people feel that they live in a society where they are constantly concerned and competing with each other for their SES. These results could have important implications as health and wellbeing could be promoted by reducing economic inequalities and the competitive and materialistic environments of our societies.

Harnessing the Power Within: The Consequences of Salesperson Moral Identity and the Moderating Role of Internal Competitive Climate

The purpose of this research is to examine the notion of salesperson moral identity as a prosocial individual trait and its associated effects on customer and coworker relationships. In addition, this study examines the underlying processes in which these effects occur as well as the moderating role of internal competitive climate. Our empirical investigation of business-to-business (B2B) sales professionals reveals that moral identity has both direct and indirect effects on a salesperson’s customer- and team-directed outcomes. Specifically, our results demonstrate that salesperson moral identity positively affects both salesperson-customer identification and organizational identification, which, in turn, impact customer service provision and teamwork. Our findings also indicate that internal competitive climate exacerbates the positive effects of salesperson moral identity on customer service provision and teamwork.

Impact of renewable energy consumption, globalization, and technological innovation on environmental degradation in Japan: application of wavelet tools

With regard to environmental degradation in Japan, the world's third-largest economy, limited studies have been performed to illustrate the ecological aspects of the country's core and recent economic policies such as globalization, technological innovation, and renewable energy usage policies. Given this motivation, this research reveals a new perspective on the connection between CO2 emissions and GDP growth, renewable energy, technological innovation and globalization in Japan by employing wavelet statistical tools. The paper employs series of wavelet tools for datasets covering the period from 1990Q1 to 2015Q4. The empirical outcomes demonstrate proof of the interaction between renewable energy use, economic growth, technological innovation, globalization and CO2 emissions in both time and frequency. The empirical results of the wavelet analyses reveal that globalization, GDP growth, and technological innovation increase CO2 emissions in Japan, while renewable energy usage mitigates CO2 in the short and medium terms. The results demonstrate the significance of implementing policies effectively coordinated by the policymakers to curb the significant environmental degradation in Japan. Moreover, Japan should actively support renewable energy development and create a more competitive climate for investment in the renewable energy market.

The Race for Revision and Recognition: Interwar Hungarian Cultural Diplomacy in Context

In the wake of the First World War there was an explosion of cultural diplomatic activity and Hungary was no exception. However, as this study shows, Hungary was very much unlike its regional and Western European counterparts. Unlike the Germans, Italians, British and French, Hungarians were not trying to spread Hungarian culture per se. Hungarians employed cultural diplomacy to alter the post-war order. Considering the weakness of its economy, the frailty of its nearly non-existent military and the lack of weight that the country carried on the international political stage, the Hungarian government saw cultural diplomacy as a promising and viable alternative for changing the post-war status quo. Demonstrating the country's contribution to European and indeed to universal culture and civilisation was the fundamental message of Hungarian cultural diplomacy. However, other regional powers also aimed to portray their contributions in the very same way. In the resulting competitive climate, the Hungarian political leadership not only believed that the international community needed to be enlightened about the historical and cultural deeds of the Hungarian nation but also aimed to prove Hungary's supposed cultural supremacy over its regional counterparts. This article traces these efforts and their main themes through domestic and international festivals and gatherings, amongst them the 1930 St. Emeric's Year, the Fourth World Scout Jamboree in 1933 and the 1937 Paris World's Fair. In the end, the essay examines the real and perceived utility and limitations of small power cultural diplomacy in the age of great power politics.

Medium, Small and Medium Enterprises and Digital Platforms

A new business platform is a must for companies that are disrupting new media technology, especially during the Covid 19 era. However, many incumbent companies are less able to keep up with changing business trends. Anticipate all changes in the competitive climate in the digital era in carrying out the company transformation program along with the implementation of good corporate governance values to avoid oral hazards and a greater risk of failure. The qualitative method used in this research is a case study approach. The analysis focuses on efforts to raise Medium, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that contribute to improving the Indonesian economy. The findings show that credit, training, and mentoring programs have not been able to strengthen their position in small and medium enterprises but they are still working to increase the literacy index and financial inclusion to accelerate income distribution in Indonesia.

Collaborate and die! Exploring different understandings of organisational cooperation within Scotland's uncertain North Sea oil and gas industry

This study ethnographically explores how collaboration is enacted within two differently structured sub-sea engineering organisations local to the oil & gas industry in Aberdeen, Scotland. Literature suggests organisational collaboration practices are largely dependent on trust, historical cooperation, establishing interpersonal relations and information sharing networks. Such notions are suggested as readily enacted in Aberdeen. However, following changes in industry landscape, we uncover a variety of additional factors pertaining to macro-level local industry climate, and meso-level organisational cultures that shape different perceptions, understandings, and enactments of collaboration. To grow current scholarly thinking, we define how such diverse understandings actively prevent organisational collaboration in the restrictively competitive climate of Aberdeen’s oil & gas industry. Implications for expanding understandings of collaboration in employment sectors facing substantial industry destabilisation and reformation are discussed.