Top Management Members Research Articles

Sustainability in Supply Chain Management: The Role of Partner Collaboration and Power

Sustainability issues in supply chain management have been at the front of research and practice owing to concerns about natural resources exhaustion, pollution levels etc. emanating from business activities. Pressures from external entities like government agencies, consumer movements, and NGOs, are driving firms to implement sustainable practices internally and across their supply chains. This study sought to assess how sustainability performance in supply chains can be enhanced through collaboration and power. A total of 104 construction and Manufacturing firms drawn from the Ashanti and Greater Accra regions of Ghana were used in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from top management members in the respondent organizations. Regression models were employed to test the relationship among the variables. The findings reveal that the quest to avoid sanctions from regulatory bodies, bad publicity in the media and conflict with local communities are the main drivers of sustainability among the firms in the study population. Other external pressures such as NGOs and consumer movements were found to have little effect on the firms in the study. Also, external pressures have significant effect on collaboration and sustainability performance, and that collaboration mediates the relationship between external pressures and sustainability performance. The author calls for a rise in consumer movements to increase the pressure on firms to adopt sustainable practices. Also, regulators must adopt a supply chain approach to enforcing environmental and social laws on firms by charging the powerful, visible firms to take charge of their supply chains.

Determinants of Employee use of Personal Protective Equipment, the Case of Spedag Interfreight Uganda Limited, Kampala

In organizations where neglect of safety gears is common, there are high risks of work-related accidents which can be catastrophic. It is against this backdrop that this study was conducted to assess the determinants of use of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the global interfreight clearance agency SPEDAG based at their premises in Kampala, Uganda. Specifically the study was to establish the level of utilization and the determinants for use of such PPE. The study collected quantitative data using questionnaires from a random sample and qualitative data from purposively selected members of top management (Key informants). The results show a relatively high level (70.1%) use of PPEs, a high positive attitude (95%) towards PPE use and a high (95%) availability of guidelines or policies regarding use of PPEs. The results show that the use of the PPE is taken as pertinent and necessary among the employees. These results were confirmed by the qualitative results from the key informants. The authors concluded that continuous sensitization and sustained availability of guidelines and policies must be strongly supported to maximize use of PPEs. The major recommendation is that policy makers in consultation with work safety practitioners should design policies that are sensitive to the perceptions of the users for effective improved use of PPE.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN METALLURGICAL COMPANIES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

The paper focuses on the issue of project management education as the tool of positive influence on the success of project implementation in corporate practice. The aim of the authors is to identify the ways of training project managers, project team members and top management members in project management on the basis of interviews with human resources managers of metallurgical companies in the Czech Republic. Based on the findings, recommendations of appropriate measures are formulated at the end of the paper to improve the situation in the area of project management education in metallurgical companies.

Through the Decreased Values Gap to Increased Organizational Effectiveness: The Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment

The purpose of this article is to clarify whether congruence between espoused and attributed organizational values (CEAOV) in contemporary business circumstances is a necessity or just ‘nice to have’. Accordingly, two objectives are formulated: (a) to investigate whether CEAOV has a direct impact on organizational effectiveness and (b) to assess the mediating effect of organizational commitment between CEAOV and organizational effectiveness. The research was conducted within 15 Croatian companies ( n = 523). Data were collected through content analysis of the official websites of the companies, surveys of employees, semi-structured interviews with the members of top management and analysis of publicly available financial reports. A conceptual model is proposed regarding the mediating effect of organizational commitment on the impact of the espoused–attributed value fit on effectiveness. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for the analysis. The results show that CEAOV positively affects organizational effectiveness through the mediation of organizational commitment. The only path to attaining effectiveness is through commitment. No direct effect is found. Our research sheds light on the relevant role of authenticity, in the light of value congruence, in every organization. When employees and organizations live their values to the same degree, there is an impact on organizational commitment and hence on organizational effectiveness.

Identifying the focal role of top management paradoxical cognition in ambidextrous firms

PurposePast studies have associated top management’s paradoxical cognition and actions with the ambidextrous performance of firms. Compared to large firms, the top management members of small firms play a focal role in resolving the paradoxical tensions of explorative and exploitative innovation strategies. Anchored in the upper echelons perspective, the purpose of this paper is to explore the influences of two top management team (TMT) processes on organizational ambidexterity: TMT behavioral integration and TMT involvement in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachThe research is set in the context of 78 hi-tech SMEs across IT, biotech, and electronics industry. Multiple responses were collected from each firm. The authors used hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings from this paper demonstrate that the process of TMT behavioral integration enhances organizational ambidexterity. However, the results show that neither the top management’s involvement, nor the interaction of the top management’s involvement with the behavioral integration of a TMT, enhances organizational ambidexterity.Research limitations/implicationsThe limited examination of two TMT processes has restricted the scope of this paper. The study has also been unable to measure paradoxical cognition in the TMT objectively and without proxy measures.Originality/valueThe results from this study add to the existing literature on paradoxical cognition, ambidexterity, and behavioral integration. The results from this study also lend support to the upper echelons perspective. Further, the findings from this paper present significant practical implications by throwing light on the senior team processes necessary for small ambidextrous firms in emerging economies. The volatile and rather unpredictable nature of emerging economies underscore the relevance of examining the facilitating conditions of small ambidextrous firms in these countries.

Linked factors as predictors of the practice of public relations on the internet: a study of Croatian organizations

A change from traditional interactions between organizations and the public to interactions via the Internet needs further exploration in order to understand factors that might influence public relations activities of organizations on the Internet. This study investigates responses of 111 Croatian PR professionals to a survey about the influence of organization-linked factors on the choice of public relations models on the Internet. The results confirm that the social orientation level of top management members, availability of resources to operate, a previous negative experience with the public and practitioners’ knowledge of research methods and techniques are influential predictors of the choice of the public relations models on the Internet. The findings also validate the contention that the organizations’ selection of the public relations models depends on practitioners’ formal education in PR and the experience in dealing with conflict, PR unit size, its location and role in the formulation of PR strategies. It is also shown that organizational culture, a management style, a support for and understanding of the PR function by top management, an existence UDK: 659.4:004.738.5>=111 Izvorni znanstveni rad/ Originale scientific article 9 of a risk and issue management programs or staff, a PR unit’s involvement in organization-wide decisions, a legal department (counselor) support and a number of PR practioners with a higher education degree are not able to predict organizations’ decision to use a particular model of public relations.

The Efficacy of Wellness Programmes as Work-Life Balance Strategies in the South African Public Service

Abstract: This paper aimed to evaluate the wellness programs adopted by the South African Public Service to ascertain their efficacy at addressing work-family challenges and aiding employees to achieve work-life balance. Understanding the effectiveness of wellness programmes as work-life balance strategies is necessary especially when the cost of implementing such strategies is considered exorbitant. Many institutions have put in place work-life balance strategies, but discrepancies concerning definitions, formulation and implementation could make it impossible for them to fully reduce work-family challenges and assist employees in achieving the envisaged work-life balance. A sequential transformative mixed-methods study design was adopted. Data was collected using self-report questionnaire administered to 307 individual managers. Additionally, 11 top management members were interviewed. The major findings are as follows; (a) significant relationship exists between the wellness programmes and work-life balance strategies (b) wellness programmes qualified to be addressed only as life strategies because they did not address work challenges faced by employees. (c) work-life balance strategies predicted only 7.1% of the variations in wellness programmes in the South African Public Service. The peculiarity and value of this article lies in the discovery that work and life balance strategies adopted by organisations may not address employee work and life challenges and assist them in achieving work-life balance. Summarily, wellness programmes are not work-life balance strategies, and the South African Public Service should endeavour to adopt strategies that could assist employees in balancing work and family needs.Keywords: Wellness Programmes, Work-Life Balance Strategies, Work-family challenges, Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs)

Human resource management executive presence in top management

PurposeThis study aims to draw upon research from strategic human resource management (HRM) and strategic management to examine how HRM demands influence the likelihood that chief executive officers (CEOs) will staff top management with a human resource (HR) executive.Design/methodology/approachThe theory and hypotheses developed in this study are tested on a sample of US initial public offering firms from the calendar year 2007, using logistic regression.FindingsThe results of hypothesis tests suggest that HR executive presence in top management is positively related to the HRM demands faced by a CEO stemming from product/service innovation strategies, the number of HRs employed by the firm and CEO’s financial orientation.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study may not generalize to other settings. This study does not simultaneously consider the role of other structural forms which may increase or reduce the degree of HRM demands faced by the CEO. This study extends prior research on executive job demands by expanding the understanding of factors which give rise to HRM sources of executive job demands. Study results suggest that CEOs with financial orientations are more likely to staff their top management teams with an HR executive, which suggests that in the face of executive job demands stemming from a particular functional area, CEOs delegate responsibility for that function to another member of top management. This finding suggests that CEOs can, and in fact do, recognize the limitations engendered by their experiences and that when confronted with a specific type of executive job demand that does not align with their expertise, they take steps to address their individual limitations by appointing others that are more capable of addressing the particular source of executive job demand.Practical implicationsStudy results suggest that product/service innovation strategies, CEO’s financial background and the number of HRs employed by the firm increase the likelihood of HR functional representation in top management.Originality/valueThe theory and results of this study extend the focus of extant research on factors giving rise to HRM’s functional representation in top management. Although prior research has emphasized the role of ownership characteristics and risk preferences in the adoption of this structural form, this study examines the role of CEO HRM demands. This approach allows for the integration of the upper echelons theory with the strategic HRM literature and provides an empirical examination of CEO job demands arising from the HRM function.

Implementation of an Information and Communication Technology in a Developing Country: A Multimethod Longitudinal Study in a Bank in India

Developing countries, such as India and China, are the fastest growing economies in the world. The successful implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in these countries is likely to hinge on a set of institutional factors that are shaped by the environmental tension between two competing forces, emergent catalysts, such as new economic policies and reform programs, and traditional challenges, such as infrastructure and traditional value systems. To unearth the temporal dynamics underlying the success and failure of ICT implementations in organizations in developing countries, we conducted a two-year multimethod study of an ICT implementation at a large bank in India. Based on data collected from over 1,000 employees and over 1,000 customers, we found, relative to preimplementation levels for up to two years postimplementation, that we characterized as the shakedown phase (1) operational efficiency did not improve, (2) job satisfaction declined, and (3) customer satisfaction declined. In-depth interviews of approximately 40 members of top management, 160 line employees, and 200 customers indicated that these outcomes could be attributed to the strong influence of a set of institutional factors, such as ICT-induced change, labor economics, Western isomorphism, parallel-manual system, and technology adaptation. The interplay between these institutional factors and the environmental tension posed a formidable challenge for the bank during our study that led to the poor and unintended outcomes.

How Do Leadership Practices Relate to Societal Values? A Microanalysis of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria

This article sets out to compare the organizational culture of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria (henceforth, UAS UA) with the Austrian societal culture. Leadership practices of the UAS UA are elaborated in the knowledge that they are partly based on personal values of leaders/managers and partly on the perceived organizational set of values. Since it is assumed that societal and personal values translate in managerial practices, the authors seek to investigate how the organizational values of the UAS UA and the societal values of a country that belongs to the Germanic Europe cluster ( House et al., 2004 ) comply with each other. In a previous study, leadership styles and practices were investigated among 24 heads of study programs and members of top management of the UAS UA. It came to the fore that the respondents were attaching the utmost importance to values in the light of leadership. Among others, values discovered were trust in fellow employees and team solidarity, freedom, autonomy, and self-determination, as well as fairness and respect. Additionally, the respondents stressed the significance of consensus orientation and self-reflection with regard to their own learning capabilities. Interestingly, the UAS UA postulates its organizational values as part of its mission statement, its vision, and strategic objectives. In this follow-up study, the interrelationships between societal culture, organizational culture, and organizational leadership are explored in more detail. It is hoped that this case study will contribute to a better understanding of the organizational culture of the UAS UA by relating it to Austrian societal values. In doing so, it may have the potential to support managers to reflect and further develop their leadership styles and practices. The authors of this article seek to contribute to the intercultural discourse by building a conceptual bridge between the leadership literature of higher education and societal norms that underpin organizational values.

Private Sector Involvement in Education Enterprise and Quality Learning Outcome in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

The study examined motivational and operational involvement of private sector in education enterprise, and determined the implication on students’ learning outcome in secondary schools in Ondo State. Survey and ex-post-facto research designs were adopted. 98 top-management members completed the instrument titled “Private Sector Involvement in Education Enterprise Questionnaire” (PSIEEQ) in 49 secondary schools using multi-stage sampling technique. Four research questions and two hypotheses were formulated. Data were analyzed using percentage, mean score and pearson product moment correlation statistics at p<0.05 level of significance. The result showed low relationship between motivational factors and operation of school business (r=-0.236, p<0.05); also there was low relationship between operational factors and students’ learning outcome (r=0.185, p<0.05), The proprietors are largely motivated by the need to salvage education standard; students’ learning outcome was low at a cumulative mean score of 4.31 which confirmed the 40.3% average level of performance recorded between 2012 and 2014; the major challenges included irregular payment of school fees (61.3%), inadequate classrooms (34.7%), inadequate qualified teachers (38.8%), inadequate learning resources (57.1%), poor road networks (38.8%), irregular electricity supply (53.1%) and policy threats (59.3%). It is therefore concluded that state government should create enabling policy and improve the condition of social amenities while proprietors should give more commitment to the provision of adequate qualified teachers, updated libraries, well equipped laboratories, standard workshops and adequate instructional materials to improve students’ learning outcome in secondary schools.

Influence of sense of coherence on work-life balance at the South African public service

The inability of workers to achieve balance between work and family responsibilities has led to heightened incidence of illnesses associated with stress. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the role of Sense of Coherence (SOC) on the achievement of work life balance by focusing on individual managers at a municipality in the South African public service. These individual managers often struggle with work-life balance (WLB) challenges like HIV/AIDS, relational tension, single parenthood, child and elder care, alcohol and substance abuse, debt and financial issues, absence of job autonomy, function vagueness/role conflict and job stress. A sequential transformative mixed methods research design is adopted. Data were collected using self-report questionnaire administered to 364 individual managers; additional eleven members of top management were interviewed. Quantitative data gathered are analyzed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 to test the reliability and validity of the instrument as well as the bivariate association between the variables. NVIVO is used in organizing qualitative data for ease of content analysis. The findings indicate that SOC should be considered when designing strategies to address employee work-life needs. Furthermore, it confirmed that the presence of strong SOC does not lead to achievement of WLB

Connecting occupational safety awareness, legislation, implementation and enforcement within the Ghanaian industrial economy

Aim: The high incidence of workplace injuries and fatalities in Ghana raises concerns about potential disconnection between occupational safety legislations and their efficient enforcement within the Ghanaian industrial economy. This paper therefore sought to examine the extent to which legitimate occupational legislations are implemented and enforced and monitored in Ghanaian Industrial economy. Materials and Method: The study respondents were 70 comprising 50 workers (10 from each of the five departments in Pioneer Food Cannery), 3 Top management members, 5 Departmental heads, 5 Supervisors from the Safety department, 5 members of the Plant Safety Team and 2 officials from the Department of Factories Inspectorate in the Tema Industrial Area selected by simple random and purposive sampling methods. In-depth Interviews, key informant interviews and direct field observations were used to collect primary data in 2014/2015 and thematically analysed n 2015. Results: Though management had put in place some policies, mechanisms and regulations including the provision of personal protective equipment, the institution of safety committees, the supervision and enforcement of the mechanisms and policies in place was ineffective and inefficient as the safety department had only five supervisors.. Also the Department of Factories Inspectorate is woefully resourced in terms of personnel and logistics leading to poor inspection and enforcement of safety regulations. Conclusions: The paper posits that, there is a disconnection between occupational health and safety laws and their enforcement at the industrial level and calls for proper resourcing of the agencies responsible with enforcement.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT, THEORY IN PRACTICE, PRACTICE IN THEORY

Quality management can be considered to have four main components: quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement. Quality planning is the key factor since it set up quality level which is the company target. Or in the other words using the definition: level where customer expectations are met. In practice, quality planning is quite often ignored although it should be strategic decision, one of the most important taken by company. Actually, quality planning is out of Quality Department responsibility due to historical reason. Quality management is not the right name for them, more proper one should be Quality assurance. The right quality management means establishing quality level (not necessarily the highest one from technical point of view) with participating of Quality representative as a member of top management.

Performance management practices and managed performance: the moderating influence of organisational culture and climate in public universities in Uganda

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore and explain the existence and implementation of performance management practices in four public universities in Uganda.Design/methodology/approachA mixed‐method study approach (qualitative and quantitative) was adopted. A sample of 900 employees was drawn using a disproportionate stratified purposive sampling approach that yielded a 53 per cent response rate. Of the participants, 12 were purposively selected from top management members and interviewed using a semi‐structured interview guide. Using Nvivo software and Miles and Huberman approaches, interview data were managed and analysed.FindingsQualitative data results revealed that employees in public universities built relationships, utilised available resources, adapted to external environment, set goals and targets. This was made possible through planning, mobilising resources, problem solving, evaluating performance and adopting ICT to deliver cost‐effective quality services/products. The hypotheses were tested and revealed a significant positive relationship between performance management practices and managed performance (r=0.25, p&lt;0.001). A moderating influence of organisational culture and climate on performance management practices and managed performance was also established and confirmed (ΔR2=0.012) significantly above zero (p =0.015).Research limitations/implicationsCross‐sectional studies by their nature are subject to common method variances; further refinement of the instrument and a replication of the study using a longitudinal approach are recommended. Also, the additional studies should be supplemented with in‐depth interviews or case studies where possible to tap salient issues from the respondents.Practical implicationsPublic universities should have visionary managers who should manage strategic barriers, attract and retain thinkers, and also create result‐oriented relationships to make a dynamic contribution to the development process of Uganda.Originality/valueMass university education in Uganda today calls for new approaches to managing employees in order to balance cost, quality and education access.

Customer relationship management implementation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the generalizability of the customer relationship management (CRM) scale originally developed by Sin et al. as well as to investigate the strength of linkages between CRM implementation components and business performance in Jordan's financial service organizations (FSOs).Design/methodology/approachUsing a quantitative methodology, data were collected through a survey that included FSOs that are operating in the Jordanian market. The original adopted CRM scale was administered to 12 banks and 18 insurance companies that were found to be implementing CRM. An overall number of 320 questionnaires were sent to these banks and insurance companies' top management members who were directly involved in CRM implementation and performance assessments. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the generalizability of the CRM scale developed by Sin et al. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the research hypotheses concerning the relationship between CRM implementation and business performance.FindingsThe results suggest that the CRM implementation scale originally developed by Sin et al. does generalize to a Jordanian FSOs context. The findings indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between CRM implementation components and FSOs' business performance comprised of financial and marketing performances. CRM organization and technology‐based CRM are the strongest predictors of variations in FSOs' business performance.Originality/valueThis paper is the first systematic research project in Jordan that isdevoted to investigating the scale and components of CRM implementation in Jordan and in the Middle East.

Management control in audit firms—Partners’ perspectives

Previous studies have consistently reported high levels of quality threatening behaviours in response to traditional budgetary controls at audit trainee levels in Big Four audit firms. Partners simultaneously occupy positions as owners and members of top management, and their perspectives on these behaviours and control procedures that may mitigate potential consequences are therefore important. These perceptions, which have been missing from prior research, were investigated using semi-structured interviews with 12 audit partners from three of the Big Four firms. The findings suggest the existence of previously unidentified controls at partner level that become embedded in the procedures and routines through which potential cost-quality conflicts are managed. At the same time as cost-quality conflicts created by the formal budgetary control system are increasingly being seen by partners to be pushed up the hierarchy, changes in audit methodology and operating procedures are perceived to facilitate a strengthening of the impact of other less formal controls at lower levels. Many of these constitute examples of clan controls and include the influence of partners’ experience and intuition over a wide range of organisational activities, informal communication and signalling both within the partnership and between partners and staff, and the management of internal and external relationships. The study highlights the importance of these controls in achieving a balance between trust-building and additional monitoring.

Fuzzy logic identifier of the short-term objectives

This article presents a new science-based approach which identifies the most effective current-period short-term objective of an enterprise, which is usually set based on the pure judgment of top management members or enterprise&amp;rsquo;s experts. The method is based on fuzzy-decision-making system and makes robust utilization of enterprise&amp;rsquo;s experts&amp;rsquo; knowledge, intuition and expertise. A simple illustrative example is provided to demonstrate how the method can be efficiently and effectively used in practice. The proposed approach can be used to identify the short-term objective of any profit-making-enterprise, and is specially applicable to business industries that are full of qualitative, stochastic, uncertain, and vague variables such as the case in agricultural business (e.g., agro-food companies, fertilizers, and agro-chemical producers), and industrial firms (e.g., electronics, home appliances, machine tools companies ... etc.), and is generally applicable to any other business sector.

The effect of top management support of SISP on strategic IS management: insights from the US electric power industry

Strategic IS planning (SISP) is a fundamental tool of strategic IS management. Top management support of SISP, however, is often weak or absent. The association between this support and strategic IS management is important to an understanding of top management's role in the use of what has been acknowledged as a strategic tool. Strategic use of IS in US electric power companies is noteworthy because the industry is transitioning into a deregulated environment with increasing hostility and can provide special insights not available elsewhere. A postal survey of CIOs and other members of top management from 161 US companies, including 21 electric utility companies, revealed that top management support of SISP is strongly and significantly associated with strategic IS management. Top management support for SISP was present for both electrics and non-electric companies but results were mixed. CEOs exhibited only moderate participation in SISP although such participation was positively and strongly associated with strategic IS management. Overall, results suggest that top management support of SISP may increase when an industry transitions to a more hostile environment. Prescriptions are offered for improving top management support.

Organisational Renewal in the Context of Indian Banks

Large organisations evolve through different life cycles. Size, age, spread and ownership factors determine their response pattern and potential to sustain over the years. Based on the author’s consultancy experience, this paper describes in detail the conceptual and practical perspectives of organisational renewal in banks as service organisations. As the external environment is becoming turbulent and rapidly changing, many traditional and bureaucratic organisations suffer from the inability to plan and execute necessary internal changes. Transforming large organisations from reactive to proactive enterprises is a constant source of concern to the top management members. This paper emphasises the need for integrating plan and action for the renewal effort to provide long term benefit to a declining organisation.