Organizational Bottom Line Research Articles

Why me? Bullying and the answer to an age-old problem

Why me? Bullying and the answer to an age-old problem

How Investor Relations Contributes to the Corporate Bottom Line

Investor relations officers say that one of the biggest challenges of their work is proving to the senior management that investor relations contributes value to the organization. This study provides an initial step in evaluating investor relations' contribution to an organization's bottom line. The study first offers a theoretical overview of academic and professional literature dealing with the contribution of investor relations to the organizational bottom line. Second this theoretical overview serves as a starting point for an empirical investigation organized as a Delphi panel. Investor relations officers from corporations and investor relations agencies were recruited to participate in the panel and share their practical insights in response to the theoretically identified indicators of investor relations value. As a result, the study found 4 key areas of investor relations contribution: fair share price, improved liquidity of stock, enhanced analyst coverage, and building and maintaining investor relationships.

Creating a Cradle-to-Grave Asset Management Program

Creating a Cradle-to-Grave Asset Management Program

Diversity goals: Reframing the debate and enabling a fair evaluation

While diversity has enjoyed significant popularity in the corporate world for the last two decades, researchers continue to put forward conflicting results regarding the business benefits of workplace diversity. Some say workplace diversity is good for businesses; others argue it is an undertaking full of challenges; and yet others assert that it doesn’t really matter. With this in mind, we attempted to synthesize the research that evaluates the impact of workplace diversity on the organizational bottom line. We find an over-emphasis on demonstrating the business case of diversity in economic denominations, which—to some extent—has limited our understanding of the complex dynamics associated with diversity. We identify a lack of attention toward institutional forces as one of the reasons that has restricted our focus on mere economic gains. Overall, we recommend broadening our definition of goals that organizations have when adopting diversity initiatives by including ‘gain of legitimacy’ and ‘creation of goodwill’ as part of the essential consequences of diversity programs.

Causal Impact of Employee Work Perceptions on the Bottom Line of Organizations

Perceptions of work conditions have proven to be important to the well-being of workers. However, customer loyalty, employee retention, revenue, sales, and profit are essential to the success of any business. It is known that these outcomes are correlated with employee attitudes and perceptions of work conditions, but the research into direction of causality has been inconclusive. Using a massive longitudinal database that included 2,178 business units in 10 large organizations, we found evidence supporting the causal impact of employee perceptions on these bottom-line measures; reverse causality of bottom-line measures on employee perceptions existed but was weaker. Managerial actions and practices can impact employee work conditions and employee perceptions of these conditions, thereby improving key outcomes at the organizational level. Perceptions of specific work conditions that engage employees in their work provide practical guidance in how best to manage people to obtain desired results.

The Human Dimension

Human resources are often seen as one of the most important assets of tourism and hospitality organizations. Numerous studies have examined how employee performance can be managed to contribute to the organizational bottom line. This article is a structured review of the literature regarding key human resources management (HRM) issues in the tourism and hospitality industry. Based on this review, the authors offer an assessment of emerging trends in HRM and a summary of what has been advocated in the literature for managing employee performance.

A multi-level examination of quality-focused human resource practices and firm performance: evidence from the US healthcare industry

In today's business world, the role of quality has become ever more significant for organizations to compete in a global marketplace. Based on the quality management theory, this study empirically examines the relationship between quality-focused human resource practices (QHRP) and organizational performance outcomes. Data from 69 healthcare organizations indicate a strong support for this relationship. A Human Resource (HR) system focused on quality management was directly related to multiple dimensions of organizational performance outcomes (i.e., intangible – employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction – and tangible – profit). Specifically, two measures of QHRP, knowledge management and strategic management, were found to be positively related to the financial performance of firms implementing quality management. Process management is found to be negatively related to employee satisfaction. General Human Resources were positively related to both employee and customer satisfaction. Employee focus of the firms is also positively related to employee satisfaction. In addition, employee satisfaction is also related to both customer satisfaction and financial performance while customer satisfaction is found to be positively related to employee satisfaction. The findings indicate a generally strong positive relationship with the organizational performance outcomes. The results of this study are particularly important in showing HR's contribution to the organization's bottom line.

Workforce Strategies to Improve Your Organization's Bottom Line

In the April 2009 issue of the Journal AWWA, the Committee Connection article from the Workforce Strategies Committee outlined eight strategies that support a stronger workforce and a better bottom line. As promised, more detail about those strategies from utilities currently using them is given here. Topics and presenters include: Minimize Recruitment Risk: Create Productive, Engaged Employees with an Onboarding Process, by Denise O'Berry and Stuart Karasik; Getting Creative during a Hiring Freeze, by Julie Hunt; Communication during a Difficult Economy, by Brad Jurkovac; Sustaining a Workforce with the Skills, Knowledge, and Talent Required to Succeed, by Joanne Peterson and Nicki Pozos; Maximizing the Knowledge of Seasoned Veterans, by Jerry Stevens; and, Keep Training Programs Up and Running, by Rhonda Lewis.

Evolution of Wenger's concept of community of practice

BackgroundIn the experience of health professionals, it appears that interacting with peers in the workplace fosters learning and information sharing. Informal groups and networks present good opportunities for information exchange. Communities of practice (CoPs), which have been described by Wenger and others as a type of informal learning organization, have received increasing attention in the health care sector; however, the lack of uniform operating definitions of CoPs has resulted in considerable variation in the structure and function of these groups, making it difficult to evaluate their effectiveness.ObjectiveTo critique the evolution of the CoP concept as based on the germinal work by Wenger and colleagues published between 1991 and 2002.DiscussionCoP was originally developed to provide a template for examining the learning that happens among practitioners in a social environment, but over the years there have been important divergences in the focus of the concept. Lave and Wenger's earliest publication (1991) centred on the interactions between novices and experts, and the process by which newcomers create a professional identity. In the 1998 book, the focus had shifted to personal growth and the trajectory of individuals' participation within a group (i.e., peripheral versus core participation). The focus then changed again in 2002 when CoP was applied as a managerial tool for improving an organization's competitiveness.SummaryThe different interpretations of CoP make it challenging to apply the concept or to take full advantage of the benefits that CoP groups may offer. The tension between satisfying individuals' needs for personal growth and empowerment versus an organization's bottom line is perhaps the most contentious of the issues that make CoPs difficult to cultivate. Since CoP is still an evolving concept, we recommend focusing on optimizing specific characteristics of the concept, such as support for members interacting with each other, sharing knowledge, and building a sense of belonging within networks/teams/groups. Interventions that facilitate relationship building among members and that promote knowledge exchange may be useful for optimizing the function of these groups.

The Business of Integrative Medicine

In Brief LEARNING OBJECTIVE • To identify the specific business strategies necessary to operate a successful integrative medicine/medical fitness center. The business of integrated medicine and medical fitness has grown and matured into a sound business model, demonstrating that wellness and prevention can be financially profitable, contributing positively to an organization's bottom line. This article examines the specific business strategies necessary to operate a successful integrative medicine/medical fitness center

Occupational Health Nurses and Workers' Compensation Insurance Programs

Today's occupational health nurse is likely a clinician, educator, case manager, consultant, and risk manager. Occupational health nurses improve working conditions, prevent injuries, reduce insurance-related costs, and rehabilitate workers. They not only develop health service programs taking into account both the welfare of workers and the organization's bottom line, they also make budgetary and staffing recommendations for the programs' implementation. Occupational health nurses must understand their organizations' workers' compensation insurance programs, how these programs work, and how nurses can maximize the companies' worker advantages and bottom line.

Occupational Health Nurses and Workers' Compensation Insurance Programs

Today's occupational health nurse is likely a clinician, educator, case manager, consultant, and risk manager. Occupational health nurses improve working conditions, prevent injuries, reduce insurance-related costs, and rehabilitate workers. They not only develop health service programs taking into account both the welfare of workers and the organization's bottom line, they also make budgetary and staffing recommendations for the programs' implementation. Occupational health nurses must understand their organizations' workers' compensation insurance programs, how these programs work, and how nurses can maximize the companies' worker advantages and bottom line.

HR and the Bottom-Line: The Impact of High Performance Work Systems

In recent times, several researchers have concerned themselves with the impact of human resource activities on an organization's bottom-line. In this connection, it has been argued that implementing high performance work systems (HPWSs) in the organization would help organizations achieve significantly improved levels of operational and financial performance through optimal utilization of human resources. This empirical study tests these assertions, and results confirm that, indeed, HR practices can have a significant impact on the bottom-line.

Does Crew Resource Management Training Work? An Update, an Extension, and Some Critical Needs

This review provides the state of crew resource management (CRM) training evaluations since the E. Salas, C. S. Burke, C. A. Bowers, and K. A. Wilson (2001) review and extends it to areas beyond aviation cockpits. Some critical evaluation needs in CRM training are also covered. Because of the purported success of CRM training in aviation, other high-consequence domains have begun to implement CRM training for their workforces. However, the true impact of CRM training in aviation and these other domains has yet to be determined. Using D. L. Kirkpatrick's (1976) framework for evaluating training (i.e., reactions, learning, behavior, and organizational impact), we reviewed 28 published accounts of CRM training to determine its effectiveness within aviation, medicine, offshore oil production and maintenance, shipping/maritime, and nuclear power domains. Findings indicate that CRM training generally produced positive reactions from trainees; however, the impact of training on learning and behavioral changes suggest mixed results across and within domains. Furthermore, and as was found by Salas, Burke, et al. in 2001, we cannot ascertain whether CRM has had an impact on the organization's bottom line (i.e., safety). Based on the results, there are several critical needs that the CRM training community must address before CRM training can have the desired impact on safety: a mandate, access to data, and resources. As CRM training expands to organizations beyond aviation, it is critical that its impact be understood such that it can be improved and achieve the intended results.

Bringing Human Resources To the Table

Rather than viewing HR as a critical driver of organizational strategy and outcomes, most health care organizations see HR as a drain on the organization's bottom line. Only by aligning HR with the organizational strategy will HR leaders truly get a seat at the leadership table. HR professionals can overcome impediments and gain a seat at the table by learning the language of business and the ways in which organizational leaders use data to drive their decisions. This article shows how Mayo Clinic uses the popular Balanced Scorecard approach to align its measures of HR performance to the organization's strategic plan.

The Business Case for Better Buildings

The buildings in which customers receive services are inherently part of the service experience. Given the high stress of illness, healthcare facility designs are especially likely to have a meaningful impact on customers. In the past, a handful of visionary "healing environments" such as the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California; Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut; Woodwinds Health Campus in St. Paul, Minnesota; and San Diego Children's Hospital were built by values-driven chief executive officers and boards and aided by philanthropy when costs per square foot exceeded typical construction costs. Designers theorized that such facilities might have a positive impact on patients' health outcomes and satisfaction. But limited evidence existed to show that such exemplary health facilities were superior to conventional designs in actually improving patient outcomes and experiences and the organization's bottom line. More evidence was needed to assess the impact of innovative health facility designs. Beginning in 2ooo, a research collaborative of progressive healthcare organizations voluntarily came together with The Center for Health Design to evaluate their new buildings. Various "Pebble Projects" are now engaged in three-year programs of evaluation, using comparative research instruments and outcome measures. Pebble Projects include hospital replacements, critical care units, cancer units, nursing stations, and ambulatory care centers. The Pebble experiences are synthesized here in a composite 3oo-bed "Fable Hospital" to present evidence in support of the business case for better buildings as a key component of better, safer, and less wasteful healthcare. The evidence indicates that the one-time incremental costs of designing and building optimal facilities can be quickly repaid through operational savings and increased revenue and result in substantial, measurable, and sustainable financial benefits.

And then a miracle occurs! Ensuring the successful implementation of enterprisewide epss and E-learning from day one

And then a miracle occurs! Ensuring the successful implementation of enterprisewide epss and E-learning from day one

Team training in the skies: does crew resource management (CRM) training work?

The aviation community has invested great amounts of money and effort into crew resource management (CRM) training. Using D. L. Kirkpatrick's (1976) framework for evaluating training, we reviewed 58 published accounts of CRM training to determine its effectiveness within aviation. Results indicated that CRM training generally produced positive reactions, enhanced learning, and promoted desired behavioral changes. However, we cannot ascertain whether CRM has an effect on an organization's bottom line (i.e., safety). We discuss the state of the literature with regard to evaluation of CRM training programs and, as a result, call for the need to conduct systematic, multilevel evaluation efforts that will show the true effectiveness of CRM training. As many evaluations do not collect data across levels (as suggested by D. L. Kirkpatrick, 1976, and by G. M. Alliger, S. I. Tannenbaum, W. Bennett, Jr., & H. Traver, 1997), the impact of CRM cannot be truly determined; thus more and better evaluations are needed and should be demanded.

Social capital: reconceptualizing the bottom line

Examines social capital as a theoretic construct with the potential to enhance our understanding of public relations contribution to the organizational bottom line. There are three classes of outcomes: increased and/or more complex forms of social capital, reduced transaction costs, and organizational advantage. Like economic capital, social capital is not always used wisely and can produce negative consequences for actors.

Do Broad-Based Stock Options Create Value?

Once the exclusive province of company executives, today organizations across the corporate landscape are offering stock options to employees at all levels. Identifying strategically important behaviors and linking them to the stock option plan design can create value for an organization. Options can be used to attract and retain employees, align worker and company interests, and enhance corporate performance, particularly when worker participation and ownership are actively encouraged. However, a vital component of this equation is greater knowledge acquisition: options should be accompanied by training dollars to allow employee-owners to learn about the organization's industry and competitive forces and how to read and interpret financial documents. Under these circumstances, a corporate culture steeped with ownership participation and continuous learning will flourish and ultimately enhance the organization's bottom line.