Executive Positions Research Articles

Gray Zone in the Selection of Senior Executive Service Positions

The selection of senior executive service positions in Indonesia is carried out openly as part of the merit system. Although this policy has been in place for the past few years, senior executive service position selection in Indonesia still faces many obstacles. This research examined the process of each stage of the open selection process in Wajo and Pare-Pare. Qualitative methods were used with a case study approach. The main conclusion of this research was that there are still weaknesses in the open selection process, especially in the selection of senior executive service positions, where there is still a gray area. The absence of more specific standards regarding the selection process means that the selection committee has great power in determining the selection standards, particularly in terms of interviews and writing samples. The high percentage of evaluations for selections can mean that the acceptance of the participants is determined by the subjectivity of the selection committee. It was found that the selection process was not good enough to assess the competence of the selection participants. Although the selection process follows regulations, the results do not reflect the objective of the merit system, which is to recruit based on the skills of employees.
 Keywords: recruitment, open selection, senior executive service positions

Criteria to appraise top executives for ambidextrous leadership

PurposeThis paper determines and analyses criteria for top executives to use in appraisal systems to promote ambidextrous leadership, enhancing the organization's ability to identify persons who can lead ambidextrously or determining the development potential of existing top executives.Design/methodology/approachUsing a theoretical-conceptual, triangulated approach, the investigation in this paper examines the requirements for top executives to lead ambidextrously. In a subsequent review and frequency analysis, the specific attributes/behaviours a top executive should possess are examined. Analysis of the application of these appraisal criteria is theoretical.FindingsThe criteria listed in this paper (e.g. ambition, courage, vision) can be used to foster ambidextrous leadership when hiring or evaluating performance. These and/or the criteria already existing in an organization should be classified in one of the two categories presented (1. one-dimensional criteria: differentiation between exploration/exploitation is not necessary; 2. multidimensional criteria: differentiation between exploration and exploitation, opening and closing leadership, and first- and second-order changes is necessary) to differentiate the criteria and thereby illuminate their application in the areas of exploration and exploitation. Thus, a corresponding assessment of applicants and/or job holders for ambidextrous leadership is possible.Originality/valueThis theoretical analysis contributes to the literature on top executives' recruitment, performance management, career and succession planning, focusing on ambidextrous leadership and organizational development by elucidating a differentiated concept for appraisal criteria so that the right person can be appointed to the top executive position or assigned to the necessary personnel development programme. Thus identified, a top executive may be positioned to maintain, improve or install ambidextrous leadership and practice in an organization.

The career paths of executive directors: Founders, fillers, planners and risers

AbstractThis paper analyzes qualitative interview data with a sample of 41 executive directors of human services nonprofits to discover why people become executive directors, what career paths they follow, and how well these career paths prepare them for the job. All became executive directors because they wanted to help others. Less important motivations included influencing how programs operate, wanting to be successful, and wanting a higher salary. The paper proposes a new typology of career paths: founders who started their own nonprofit, fillers from the board or a volunteer position, planners who actively pursued an executive position for years, and risers who worked their way up through the ranks and found that executive director was the next step. Most considered themselves well prepared at the time they took on the position, and there was little difference among the four types of career paths in the level of perceived preparedness. The findings suggest that nonprofit organizations should pay more attention to training leaders who rise up through the ranks, and that management education programs can assist in this mid‐career training. Future research should expand the examination of career paths and preparedness to a large and nationally representative survey.

Decomposing the effects of digitalization on workers’ job satisfaction

This paper provides novel results on the relative importance of multiple channels through which digitalization affects job satisfaction. Using part-time students and graduates of professional education and training colleges in Switzerland as a case study, we investigate the relative strength of ten different channels. We find that the association between digitalization and job satisfaction is positive on average. This relationship is mainly due to the increase in productivity and more interesting work. Heterogeneity analyses on subsets of workers suggest that the effect through increasing productivity is more beneficial for women, for older workers, for workers without an executive position, and for workers who did not study in technology-related fields. The effect through the interestingness of work is larger for males and for older workers. Our results further suggest that among the channels that decrease job satisfaction, increase of time pressure and worsening of work-life balance are much more important than the threat of losing one’s job. Both channels are more relevant for men, for older workers, and for workers whose field of study is technology-related.

Gender quota legislation has no spillover effect on hiring of female CEOs

Iceland is a global leader in gender equality. Nevertheless, women face apparent exclusion from senior executive positions, and men hold 19 out of 20 CEO positions at listed companies. This study sheds light on the hiring process for CEOs of listed companies and on why the increased number of female board members has not led to an increased number of female CEOs. The research question is as follows: How do women on boards of listed companies experience the CEO hiring process with regard to equality of opportunity for male and female candidates? The study reports findings from interviews with 22 women who collectively sit on the boards of all of the listed companies in Iceland. Findings reveal a deep dissatisfaction with the prevailing CEO hiring practices, which they experience as a fast-paced and closed process, heavily reliant on board members’ networks and headhunters’ lists. The interviewees find that the outcomes exclude women, and they are conflicted about their own participation in the process. They voice the need for inclusion and call for disruptive tactics, more courage and gender quotas at the executive level. The main contribution of this research is that for the first time, female board members of all listed companies in one country have been interviewed to shed light on their experiences of the hiring process for senior management positions.

Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards Associated with Ophthalmology

Enhancing diversity on boards has been linked to greater profitability and innovation. Unfortunately, there remains an underrepresentation of women in executive management and leadership positions in the ophthalmic corporate world. The purpose of these analyses was to examine the gender composition of directors for boards associated with the discipline of ophthalmology. Cross-sectional research design. Using contemporary data, we examined a specific cohort, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Foundation Ophthalmic Business Council corporate members as reported in the annual 2019 meeting program (N=23). The board composition was analyzed using an online search of publicly available information in January and February 2020. The specific outcome measures included the number and percentage of women board members and their roles. There were a total of 23 Ophthalmic Business Council members with publicly available data; 37 of 195 total directorship seats (19%) were held by women, and 9 of 23 companies (39%) listed women as previous or current chairs of committees or outside corporations. Four of the 23 (17%) members of the Ophthalmic Business Council corporations had no women directors. The boards of directors of the AAO Foundation Ophthalmic Business Council corporate members remain predominately male. Despite the increasing number of women entering the specialty, women remain underrepresented in the corporate world of ophthalmology. Gender parity on boards is essential for the economic well-being of ophthalmic corporations as well as the relationship of the Ophthalmic Business Council with AAO members, health care systems, insurance carriers, government officials, and the public.

A Story of an Associate Dean in Higher Education in Uncertain and Challenging Times

This essay tells my story of being an associate dean at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa during uncertain and challenging times. Triumphs are rare in administrative work, but there were some incremental successes that have given me a sense of accomplishment as a leader. It discusses some of those accomplishments and challenges. It also tells my experience of transition from a department faculty position to an administrative position. It concludes with advice for those who are currently considering a managerial or executive administrative position beyond your home department.

The Universal Evergreen of Life: Lincoln’s Serious Use of Humor

It is widely known that Abraham Lincoln had an exceptional sense of humor. Entire books have been filled with his jokes and amusing stories. But Lincoln also used his humor to achieve political ends. For example, Lincoln used humor to ease the burdens of the executive position during a time of war. But Lincoln used his humor in another way – to draw attention to his rhetorical leadership. As this paper will show, Lincoln’s humor served as a kind of cueing device to draw the public’s attention to his leadership and statesmanship.

Top management team gender diversity and firm risk-taking in the hospitality industry

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the link between top management team (TMT) gender diversity and firm risk-taking in hospitality companies. The study also links female leadership to risk-taking. Finally, this study examines the moderating effects of TMT incentive pay and TMT age on the relationship between TMT gender diversity and firm risk-taking.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses an unbalanced data set of 81 hospitality firms and 888 firm-year observations over the period of 1992–2020. The study uses fixed-effects regression estimation for primary analyses and addresses potential endogeneity concerns via two-stage least square regression with firm fixed-effects instrumental variable regression. Risk-taking is measured by total firm risk (i.e. the annualized volatility of daily stock returns). Main results are supported with alternative measures of firm risk and estimation methods.FindingsThe study finds that increasing TMT gender diversity leads to a reduction in firm risk-taking in the hospitality industry. Moreover, the study finds that hospitality firms led by a female CEO experience lower firm risk compared to firms led by a male CEO. Finally, the study finds evidence that the relationship between TMT gender diversity and firm risk is contingent on the level of incentive pay awarded to TMT members and the age of TMT members. Increasing incentive pay and aging executive teams decrease the risk reduction effect of TMT gender diversity.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study recommend that firm risk-taking in the hospitality industry is related to gender diversity in TMTs. Hence, the board of directors should pay attention to gender composition for executive positions for risk management. Moreover, the results also suggest that care should be exercised when using incentive pay to align the interests of managers and shareholders. Finally, the board of directors needs to consider both gender diversity and age of the TMT members for TMT composition to manage executives’ risk-taking behavior.Originality/valueThis study fills a research gap in the hospitality literature by providing empirical evidence for the link between TMT gender diversity and firm risk-taking. Additionally, the study introduces incentive pay and age of TMT as contingency factors for the link between TMT gender diversity and firm risk-taking.

Gender Composition of Board of Directors and Financial Performance: A Case of Selected Companies in Nigeria

Like some other countries, the Nigeria Security Exchange Commission in 2011 declared that all listed companies should encourage diversity in the appointment of board members and that the criteria for selection of directors should reflect gender composition, thereby allowing more women on board of listed companies. Despite these declarations there still seems to be low representation of women in mostly top executive positions of companies in Nigeria. It is also unclear whether corporate board gender balance composition improves companies’ financial performance in Nigeria given this low representation of women on board. Hence, the need for this study to examine the relationship between board gender composition and companies’ financial performance in Nigeria, as well as examining the recent trend in board gender composition of selected companies. The study employed descriptive and correlation analyses for five companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange between 2010 and 2020. The study found near zero positive relationship between companies’ financial performance (profit growth rate) and board gender composition (ratio of female representation on board to board size). It revealed that though the board of directors of the companies in Nigeria are still majorly male dominated, the number of female representation on boards has increased marginally during period understudy. The study concludes that gender composition of board member has very small or no significant relationship with company’ profit and performance in Nigeria.

Eleições, partidos e ideologia política no interior do Brasil

Eleições e voto são pilares fundamentais de qualquer democracia bem consolidada. Assim, o objetivo do artigo é colaborar para esse debate analisando como o eleitorado de Petrolina (Pernambuco-Brasil) votou para os cargos do executivo (prefeito, governador e presidente) entre 1988 e 2016. A finalidade é compreender o modelo de votação da sétima maior cidade do interior nordestino para cada cargo e comparar tais resultados em termos partidário-ideológicos. Os dados provêm dos relatórios eleitorais do Tribunal Regional Eleitoral e consideram as seguintes variáveis: ano da votação, candidatos mais votados e seus partidos políticos. A análise indica que os eleitores da cidade seguem um modelo de votação tradicional e fechada para prefeito, independentemente de ideologia partidária, e em âmbito estadual e federal um perfil mais partidário e à esquerda. Desse modo, colaborando para o entendimento da lógica eleitoral em municípios de grande porte no interior do Brasil, campo ainda pouco explorado.

Mind the Gap: Women in Pediatric Hospital Medicine.

Mind the Gap: Women in Pediatric Hospital Medicine.

Die Rekrutierung des Regierungspersonals in der Ampel-Koalition: Zwischen Repräsentation, Loyalität und Kompetenz

The new federal government of SPD, Greens, and FDP has set itself an ambitious agenda . For its implementation, government personnel is of considerable importance . This article examines how standard recruitment criteria for top executive positions - representation, loyalty, and competence - are reflected in the personnel profile of the “traffic-light” govern- ment . The analysis includes the 17 cabinet members, the 37 parliamentary state secretaries and state ministers as well as the 34 state secretaries . Overall, the personnel profile of the Scholz government is heavily partisan . Its outstanding feature is a high share of women in all office categories . At the same time, the recruitment patterns differ between the three coalition parties . The SPD’s governing personnel reflects not only the chancellor’s domi- nant role of in appointments but also the difficulties of achieving a balance between (gen- der) representation, loyalty, and competence in view of the inner-party power architecture . In the case of the Greens there is a clear emphasis on women’s representation and party loyalty, while the FDP’s government personnel is characterized by a combination of per- sonal loyalty at cabinet level and competence orientation in the other offices .

The Effect of Training Results Perception on Individual Work Performance of Employee Moderated by Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

This study aims at examining the effect of training results perceptions on individual work performance of employee, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation serving as moderation strengthening that effect. T his study was quantitative research selecting 453 samples out of 1.311 population from PT KAI’s employees in which they are executive officer. The data collection was done using a close questionnaire with Likert scale 1-5. All valid and reliable instruments were assessed through Factor Analysis and Cronbach's Alpha Analysis. Hypothesis testing is carried out using Hierarchical Regression Analysis by including the Multicollinearity test as a prerequisite for analysis. The study results showed that training result perceptions and extrinsic motivation simultaneously or partially have a positive and significant effect on individual work performance of employee, but intrinsic motivation have no significant effect. Intrinsic or extrinsic motivation does not moderate or strengthen the relationship between training result perceptions and individual work performance of employee. The three independent variables are not related to each other. PT KAI’s employees, especially those in executive position, are more oriented towards extrinsic results than intrinsic ones. The implication for PT KAI is that to improve the individual work performance of its employees, the organization can focus on improving training, external motivation or both. It depends on the vision, long-term goals, and resources of PT KAI.

Barriers to Career Advancement in the Hotel Industry in Timor-Leste: Study of Gender Stereotyping, Old Boys’ Network and Gender Differences

The hotel industry in Timor-Leste is female-dominated. However, women are under-represented in managerial and senior executive positions. This study examines the relative importance of gender stereotyping and old boys’ network variables as barriers that impact women’s and men’s career advancement in the hotel industry in Dili, Timor-Leste. A survey questionnaire was distributed at 20 hotels in Dili, Timor-Leste, and 16 hotels granted approval, represented by 385 individuals (226 women and 159 men). These data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results from this study indicated that gender stereotyping had a significant influence as a barrier to career advancement. Old boy’s network had no significant barrier to the career advancement for both in women versus men comparison. Furthermore, the male group scores higher than the female group in the variables of stereotyping in gender differences analysis as the higher scores represent the biases against women. This study is the first study to examine barriers for individuals’ career advancement in the hotel industry of Dili, Timor-Leste. This study suggests theoretical and practical implications on barriers for men’s and women’s career advancement and mitigates gender inequality in the organization.

Women directors in Italy: 1913–2017

Corporate elites have been male bastions until very recently and businesswomen have been very few and difficult to track. This paper addresses this topic by investigating the presence of women among the directors of the top 250 Italian joint-stock companies in eleven benchmark years spanning from 1913 to 2017. It shows a male preponderance throughout the period investigated. Women were nearly totally excluded from Italian boards until the end of the 20th century and their number showed a sizeable increase only after the turn of the century. Women also occupied marginal positions in the boards: very few of them held multiple directorships and the first female interlocker appeared only in 1972. In a country dominated by family capitalism, for a long time the very few women directors sat on the boards of family firms and were members of the families that owned these firms. The presence of women in Italian corporate boards was boosted in recent years by the introduction in 2011 of mandatory gender quotas for listed firms and for firms participated by the state. This law provided legitimacy to the appointment of women on boards also in other firms not affected by the new regulation. The massive increase in seats held by women led to a professionalisation of female directors in Italy, even though women are still largely excluded from top executive positions.

Promising Pathways: Investigating Personal Factors Promoting Nonprofit Executives

The nonprofit sector has been critiqued for failing to systematically develop leadership to meet the sector’s professionalizing needs. The personal profile of who sits in the nonprofit executive position can be insightful about what experience and training have been deemed appropriate for nonprofit leadership and may reveal career pathways to the executive position. In this paper, the career backgrounds of 185 nonprofit association executives are reported upon, investigating if the credentials and experience held by these executives helped expedite their career pathway to the top position. The findings indicate that nonprofit sector experience was a significant predictor of time to the executive position, but that other career variables, such as education, credentials, and other previous experiences did not significantly impact the time to the position. This study adds to what we know about the professionalization of the nonprofit sector and raises questions about what signals readiness for the sector’s executive position.

Locus of Control Personality of Women Leaders as a Moderator Influencing Personality Traits of Women Leaders on Employee Performance in the Sharia-Based Banking Industry in Makassar City

Recently researchers found that there are no significant differences in leadership abilities between males and females in executive positions emerged. Therefore there is no significant difference in personality between men and women in executive positions in improving employees' performance. This research will be focus on women executives (leaders) personality traits on improving employees' performance. This research aims to investigate the influence of personality traits of women leaders moderated by their locus of control on employee performance in the sharia-based banking industry in Makassar city. This research is going to use the big five model personality, self-efficacy, Machiavellian, and narcissism to analyze personality traits of women executive and also as independent variables. Employees' performances are going to be the dependent variable. And locus of control of the women executive is going to use as moderating variable that could possibly improve the relationship between the personality traits of the female executive on employees' performance. The sample of this research is 40 women executives (from supervisors to managers) in the sharia-based banking industry in Makassar city. The data of this research are collected by questioners. Then the data are going to be analyzed with SEM-PLS statistic. The statistical data gathered during the research revealed that internal locus of control of women leaders’ moderate relationship between big five model personality, self-efficacy, machiavellian, and narcissitic personality of women leaders on employee performance in the sharia-based banking industry in Makassar city. Thus, this research results prove that locus of control could moderate in improving the relationship between personality traits of women leaders on improving employees performance but only internal locus of control of women leader not the external locus of control of women leader.

Challenges of justification of investment in organizational knowledge management

ABSTRACT This paper aims to explore the interrelation between the difficulty in justifying to executives the resources necessary for knowledge management (KM) in itiativesand the challenges in understanding the value of optimal KM. From in-depth personal interviews and group interviews with 41KM professionals, we reveal eight significant challenges that may explain the difficulty of understanding the true value of KM for knowledge-intensive organisations. We reveal that these challenges have a significant effect on the perceptions of the profitability of budget investments in tools and practices aimed at improving knowledge flow in organisations. Given that the present study is the antithesis of previous research, we suggest that future researchers deepen the research of the positions of senior executives regarding KM. This research is unique in its attempt to close the gap in the literature created by the lack of scientific studies on the challenges at the heart of the discipline.

Single Women in Erbil A qualitative study on the reasons and obstacles behind Women staying single in Erbil city

The subject of single women is a contentious topic in Erbil society. Being professionally successful is often sufficient motivation for a woman to remain single. Women enjoy the competitive process of advancing to executive positions at work and find it extremely satisfying. There are many unmarried women in Erbil for many reasons. It has been noticed through observation and social relationships that the rate of single women is increasing for many reasons. According to a report published on Rudaw site in 2015 the rate of unmarried women in Iraq (including Kurdistan) reached 85%, while The Iraqi Ministry of Planning announced on Mawazin news site in 2018 that the rate of women (ages between 15-49) who feel safe alone and do not get married early is 85% in Kurdistan to 60% in central and southern Iraq. Some of the women refuse to get married because they want to develop their education level and have a successful career. Those women believe that marriage will prevent them from traveling abroad in order to develop their knowledge, skills, and may will not be able to work in different institutions if they get married especially in Erbil subculture which some traditional men do not always allow their daughters, sisters or wives to travel alone and leave their families behind. In addition, it will be difficult for women to leave their children alone, because most of the women sacrifice the personal desire for the sake of their family. While other single women do not get married, because of some domestic problems, especially in tribal families when the family does not accept that their daughter marries a man who does not belong to the same tribe. Other families demand dowry such as a big amount of money and an expensive house that cannot be afforded by the grooms. Moreover, the financial reason when the woman works and gets a salary and the family depends on her financially. The researcher has found out the social, economic, and education issues that are behind women remaining single. In order to get a good result, the researcher used qualitative methodology and interviewed 20 single women in Erbil society from different social, economic, and educational backgrounds. In-depth interviewing helped her to get good information and be able to communicate with them personally; those women have been asked previously prepared questions (semi-structured interviewing). The ages of the women are between 25 - 40 years old and they are working at universities, governmental institutions, and Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs).