Senior Managers In Organizations Research Articles

Environmental Skills Gaps in Tourism and Hospitality Organisations

This research analyses the current self-reported level of proficiency of environmental skills, the required future level of proficiency, and the gaps between them. Given the increasingly urgent need for the tourism industry to take action to support environmental management practices, this research provides evidence of key environmental skill gaps. Mixed methods research is applied where the sample includes 1404 respondents to a questionnaire and 264 interviewees from senior management of organisations from five tourism sectors (accommodation establishments, food and beverage outlets, destination management organisations, tour operators and travel agents, visitor attractions) in eight European countries. Analysis of variance, t-tests, correlation and cluster analyses, and Pearson Chi-square tests were employed for data analysis. The findings revealed that the country of registration, the size and the tourism sector type influence significantly the current and future proficiency levels of environmental skills, and the gaps between them. Most respondents did not receive environmental skills training. Theoretical, managerial and policy implications are also discussed.

Positive career shocks and career optimism: testing the mediating role of career decision-making self-efficacy

PurposeThis study examines the relationship of positive career shocks and career optimism. The mediating role of career decision-making self-efficacy (CDSE) between positive career shocks and career optimism and the moderating role of consideration of future consequences – immediate (CFC-I) between CDSE and career optimism are checked.Design/methodology/approachThrough cluster sampling, cross-sectional data from 192 professionals of electronic media industry were collected via an electronically administered questionnaire. For preliminary descriptive data analysis, SPSS version 21 was used. SmartPLS version 3.0 was used for testing the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results showed that positive career shocks have a relationship with career optimism via CDSE. Also, CFC-I moderated the relationship of CDSE and career optimism such that the relationship of CDSE and career optimism was stronger at higher level of CFC-I.Practical implicationsThe study provides implications for the career consultants, human resource professionals and senior management of organizations. All these stakeholders can strive to build an inventory of positive career shocks. Also, shifting to a surprised business model of announcing compensations and promotions is another area to work on. The results of this study further suggest disengaging the fresh potential employees in the initial processes of recruitment. Interdepartmental coordination of health and safety department and human resource management department is also a very important implication for this study to highlight the positive aspects of being optimistic.Originality/valueThe study is among the few empirical studies which investigates the relationship between positive career shocks and career optimism via CDSE. Also, in light of the latest call of various empirical works in the domain, this study adds a moderating variable, i.e. CFC-I in predicting career optimism. Furthermore, contrary to the conventional approach of applying students' data on career models, this study tests the proposed career model on data collected from professionals.

Critical success factors and challenges for Lean Startup: a systematic literature review

PurposeThe term Lean Startup (LS) was coined by Eric Ries, and his 2011 book has popularized the concept with organizations, both startups and established organizations, implementing LS. However the empirical grounding is thin and for a long time this subject has been neglected by academia. The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review (SLR) on LS, while highlighting core knowledge and identify gaps.Design/methodology/approachA SLR was carried out based on the Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol of Scopus and Web of Science databases. In total, 45 articles published in journals and conferences over 10 years were collected which revealed a number of LS research gaps.FindingsThe SLR revealed the tools and methods associated with LS, most cited pros and cons, reasons that cause LS failure, the challenges that companies face in the implementation of LS, and critical success factors (CSFs) that can support these challenges and minimize the reasons for failure.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study can be beneficial to practitioners and senior managers in organizations who wish to delve into the journey of LS. The study also discloses challenges and barriers that can hinder the implementation of LS.Originality/valueAcademic publications regarding LS are sparse and this SLR is one of the first SLRs to explore both the critical failure factors (CFFs) and the CSFs based on peer-reviewed journal and conference proceedings.

Functioning of Public Internal Audit in Albania

Internal audit is an important tool in helping senior management of organizations to find the right solutions in meeting the objectives. Through findings and recommendations, auditors provide assurance and advice on the management of internal control systems, risk and governance. The management of public organizations in Albania still has an incomplete conception and a low level of awareness on the role of contemporary internal audit services. This is firstly related to the quality of audit activities, where in significant cases the quality of this service is assessed to be not at the levels required by contemporary standards and practices, and secondly to the lack of recognition and misuse of these services by many administrators of public organizations. The aim of this research is to determine the state of capacity of public administration employees in the field of internal audit, in public organizations in Albania and give the right recommendations for the development of these capacities in order for the internal audit service to become a powerful tool in the hands of managers to achieve their objectives by adding value to the organization. The methodology used for the research has its own dimensions such as: specification of research subjects and sampling, tools used for research, implementation plan, ethical issues, presentation of research findings, etc. The research is based on primary and secondary data collection. The research is based on the testing of the Hypothesis, H0. The practical implications of this paper consist in the fact that: this is an in-depth study of the problems faced by the internal audit activity in public sector organizations in Albania. The conclusions and recommendations given to address these issues will add value to the management of these organizations, by helping managers reconsider their roles and responsibilities in order to strengthen the Internal Control System, and to make it a powerful tool in meeting their objectives. They also serve internal auditors to improve their practical activities. The paper is original, as so far in Albania no other studies with these dimensions have been conducted in this field, and it also has both theoretical and practical value for researchers, internal auditors and managers of the field.

Strategic IT alignment Projects. Towards Good Governance

The senior management of organisations frequently perceive IT Projects as merely technological in nature. They fail to realise that in reality, the mission of IT is to provide technology-based support to business processes that can be key to the organisation. This lack of understanding means that these IT projects are not aligned with the business objectives and that investments in resources and personnel are not adequately prioritised. This can lead to an opportunity loss: a mere computerising of the business is sought, and processes that could turn out to be transformative, generating added value, driving a true digital transformation of the business are overlooked. This article proposes a model for implementing and operating a portfolio of strategic IT projects. Based on Good Governance principles, these latter projects move strategic decision-making up to an organisation's senior management, succeeding in gradually implicating these managers into the IT strategy. But above all, the model succeeds in achieving the targeted strategic alignment of IT projects with the organisation's business objectives and interests. The model has already been implemented in fourteen medium and large size public universities. The follow-up through interviews of the nine longest-standing experiences—some are nearly a decade old—revealed that the portfolio implementation strategy had helped to markedly improve the following elements: the institutions’ state of maturity of Good Governance; senior management's involvement in IT projects; and the identification of the most interesting IT projects for the business. To conclude, based on our experience, we can affirm that the strategic IT alignment projects is an effective IT Governance tool and, by extension, an example of Good Governance practice.

Relation between senior managers’ safety leadership and safety behavior in the Chinese petrochemical industry

Senior managers in organizations are authorized and obliged to maintain organizational safety. However, to date, little research has considered the relation of senior managers' safety leadership to safety behavior. This study addresses this gap by using path analysis to confirm the validity of a hypothetical model that relates six dimensions of senior managers' safety leadership to two safety behaviors through the safety climate in the petrochemical industry. A questionnaire survey was sent randomly to workers (other than senior managers) in two petrochemical companies in China, and data from 155 usable responses were compiled for the path analysis. Results indicate that in the petrochemical industry, senior managers' safety leadership has a positive impact on safety behavior, and the safety climate plays an intermediary role between them. From the perspective of the dimensions of senior managers' safety leadership and safety behavior, safety concern has the greatest positive effect on safety compliance. Moreover, safety vision has the greatest positive impact on safety participation, whereas safety inspiration and safety awards and punishment have negative effects on safety compliance. Personal character does not directly influence any dimension of safety behavior but indirectly does so by influencing the safety climate. On the basis of these results, measures of improving senior managers' safety leadership in the petrochemical industry are presented to help improve the overall safety performance of the industry. A new view is provided for the petrochemical industry in China to suggest that senior managers’ safety leadership can be treated earnestly.

Senior manager decision-making and interactions with frontline staff in intellectual disability organisations: A Delphi study.

Very little is known of the activities of the most senior managers in organisations providing social care in the community to people with intellectual disabilities. Yet the importance of the focus and activities of senior managers in directing and supporting staff practice and staff experiences is likely to be central to an organisation's functioning and support provided for staff and service users. This study employed Delphi methodology with a panel of 11 senior managers, mostly chief executives, managing small to very large organisations providing support for people with intellectual disabilities, in the UK. Answering three rounds of questions, senior managers described their face-to-face and non-face-to-face contacts with staff and decision-making. Narrative data were subject to quantitative and thematic analysis. In the last round, themes were subject to quantitative analysis. Most contacts between senior managers and staff were in formal structured contexts and all managers used social media to promote the organisations' ambitionsregarding good practice. The panel focused upon accessing and understanding the informal aspects of their organisations and staff factors. Decisions were both short-term reactive and long-term strategic and an effort to link these was felt to improve organisational functioning. A framework for understanding senior managers' activities emerged showing two sources of demands and opportunity, extra-organisational focused upon meeting legal and regulatory demands and intra-organisational focused upon understanding and influencing informal staff practices/experiences and cultures within their organisations.

Features and Results of Conducted Studies Using a Lean Management Approach in Emergency Department in Hospital: A Systematic Review

To perform a systematic review of the properties and results of the studies that their approaches are lean management in emergency departments and the factors which influence on their performance.The necessary information in the first stage was collected by searching these keywords: "Lean principles" "Lean Six Sigma", "Lean Process", "Lean thinking", "Lean Methodology", "Toyota Production System lean processing", "lean techniques", "emergency department", "emergency medicine", "emergency room" and "emergency care " . And in the next stage the keywords such as "lean management" and "emergency" was collected from SID, Medlib, IranDoc, Google Scholar, MagIran, IranMedex data bases. For extracting the data data-extracting forms was prepared. The information we got from the forms was organized in information-extracting forms and was analyzed manually. The diagrams were drawn in Excel: 2010.Finally, 26 essays have been included. Most of the studies were accomplished in Canada and U.S.A. only in one of the cases, the authors used the control group. Each of these terms, "lean techniques" and "lean principals", with five times repetitions had the highest frequency. The most important team of implementation of lean management included: hospital management team or the manager of Emergency department, physicians, nurses, staffs and external counselors. Generally, 51 indicators were studied which among them the length of stay and the timing had the most frequency. After implementation of lean management, almost all studied indicators have significantly improved. 14 barriers, 14 facilitators and 10 effective factors were recognized in implementing the lean management.According to the studies, responsibility of organization's senior management and his/her supports; increasing the knowledge of the characteristics and dimension of lean among the providers of health service; and decreasing the resistance and consulting with external counselors can have great effect on the success of lean management.

Big data, big decisions: The impact of big data on board level decision-making

Big Data (BD) has the potential to ‘disrupt’ the senior management of organisations, prompting directors to make decisions more rapidly and to shape their capabilities to address environmental changes. This paper explores whether, how and to what extent BD has disrupted the process of board level decision-making. Drawing upon both the knowledge-based view, and cognitive and dynamic capabilities, we undertook in-depth interviews with directors involved in high-level strategic decision-making. Our data reveal important findings in three areas. First, we find evidence of a shortfall in cognitive capabilities in relation to BD, and issues with cognitive biases and cognitive overload. Second, we reveal the challenges to board cohesion presented by BD. Finally, we show how BD impacts on responsibility/control within senior teams. This study points to areas for development at three levels of our analysis: individual directors, the board, and a broader view of the organisation with its external stakeholders.

Problems and Perspectives of Cooperation between Kyrgyz Republic and the OSCE (Military-Political Aspects)

As a result of the Kyrgyz Republic becoming a full-fledged member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on the 30th of January, 1992 and signing up all fundamental documents of the Helsinki Final Act on the 8th of June, 1992 and the Charter of Paris for a New Europe on the 3rd of June, 1994, the Kyrgyz Republic administration has been showing commitment to fulfill all accepted obligations of the Organization and illustrating it with cooperation at military-political, social, economical and ecological fields as well as providing a space for organizing the OSCE events at the country. The OSCE' consultancy and expert assistance is heavily practiced in many fields. At the current moment, there is a high level of cooperation between Kyrgyzstan' government and OSCE's institutions that focuses on main aspects of the country's security. According to the mandate of the OSCE Head Office in Bishkek, any political or military cooperation should focus on three key points: development of political institutes, conflict prevention and anti-terror. At the current stage, the Kyrgyz Republic is focused on specifying cooperation plans in military-political field and security policy with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The political leadership of the country insists on accelerating the Organization engagement in the military-political field and multifaceted security problems, even after disagreement with the Organization's senior management and downgrading the status of the OSCE in Kyrgyzstan from the Head Office to a Program Office. After becoming a Program Office, the OSCE senior management has intensified the cooperation in the military-political field. Apart from supporting military institute, the Organization started to provide consultancy and technical support to the law enforcement in terms of new law enforcement reforms. The necessity to shape new cooperation plans between the Kyrgyz Republic and the OSCE were, first of all, focused on improving cooperation in military-political field and security policy, and its' immediate implementation with close and active participation of military and law enforcement institutes of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Prioritizing the Recognition Pattern of Affecting Factors in Deviation of Forecasts of the Senior Managers in Organizations

The present study has been carried out aimed to prioritize factors affecting the deviation of forecasts of senior managers in conceptual model provided by Yavarzadeh et al. (2015) in which 38 cases of factors affecting the deviation in forecasting by senior managers in organizations have been introduced. The statistical population of this study includes middle and senior managers of one of the Iranian ministries and state-owned companies. The main questions of the questionnaire are related to all aspects of the conceptual model of the basic paper and fuzzy TOPSIS technique for the rating of each dimension of the model. According to analysis of fuzzy TOPSIS, the most important factors affecting deviation of forecasts in the dimension of deviation of management forecast by the senior manager are protection against the risk of litigation, management experiences, variable operational environment, the degree of management skills, unstructured reforms, wrong information, favorable results or favorable trends and external shocks. In the dimension of optimistic bias in the management forecast, the major factors affecting the forecast deviation respectively, appearing more productive and successful for others, more manager confidence and managers' behavioral biases and In the dimension of pessimistic bias in the management forecast, the most important factor effecting on the deviation of forecast include bad news, mandatory forecast disclosure and reducing market expectations. The result of this study can help to organizations in the field of forecasting and organizational policy, for example, attracting and promoting educated and competent human resource.

Interview With Eugene A. Woods, FACHE, President and CEO, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Journal of Healthcare Management 62(5):p 289-292, September/October 2017. | DOI: 10.1097/JHM-D-17-00115

Confronting the financing impasse: Risk management through internationally staged investments in tidal energy development

Progress toward commercial deployment of in-stream tidal energy devices and commercial arrays has frequently met with delays, particularly in the UK and Canada. While some delays are due to the manifestation of the uncertainties inherent in new technology development, this study seeks to better understand the strategic timing decisions of tidal energy conversion companies in developing a globally-distributed renewable resource. The study consists of semi-structured interviews with executives and senior managers of organizations in the international tidal energy industry. Themes emerging from the interviews find companies manage risk by timing their investments across an international portfolio of seabed leases, consistent with the exercise of real options.

Making LARG Supply Chain Management Smart and Identification of its Conditions with Management Tools of SWOT, BI, and RFID Technology

In the information age and complex competitive environment in the world of global competition, the senior managers of organizations and companies require timely and correct decisions in order to maintain the demand-oriented in order to maintain market demand-oriented and customer retention and retain customer. Thus, for any decision-making and planning in organizations and companies, we should identify the current situation through investigation of internal and external environmental factors known so that we predict future. The present study aimed to make LARG supply chain management smart and to identify its conditions with management tools of SWOT, BI and RFID technology. This study is applied and its method is descriptive-analytic. Results of studies show that the management of programs and organizational activities are not limited to within the organizations. Therefore, organizations and companies, including manufacturing, services companies, can provide managements goals of LARG supply chain in all manufacturing and service chains that has advantages of lean, agile, resilient, and green approaches to achieve success by identifying internal and external environmental factors using analyzing tool of SWOT along with business intelligence and radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID).

Estructura y cultura organizacional en la pyme colombiana: análisis en empresas Bogotanas

Las MIPYME (micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas) juegan un rol clave en la economía Colombiana. "Representan el 96,4% del número de establecimientos en Colombia, aportan con el 63% del empleo nacional; con el 45% de la producción manufacturera, el 40% de los salarios y el 37% del valor agregado. Son más de 650.000 empresarios cotizando en el sistema de seguridad socia!". (businesscol.com, 2007). Este estudio empírico en un grupo de pymes Bogotanas, muestra el estado en la gestión direccionada de la cultura y estructura organizacional y su impacto en otras variables, como innovación y conocimiento, gestión humana, asociatividad, comunicación e información y gerencia estratégica, que son manejadas obligatoriamente por la alta gerencia de las organizaciones, así como su impacto con la utilidad operacional como medida fundamental al aporte de riqueza a los stakeholders de una empresa. Algunas de las hipótesis se prueban totalmente, algunas parcialmente y otras se rechazan presentando nuevas observaciones en lo que concierne a los dos componentes analizados

‘Technical, but not very….’: constructing gendered identities in IT-related employment

Changes in the nature of skilled roles in the IT sector were predicted to create new opportunities for women, yet the proportion of women in this sector is falling.This article presents findings from interviews with senior managers in organizations that are attempting to change this situation.There was little evidence from these respondents of a radical reappraisal of the cultural assumptions about jobs and considerable evidence that gendered identities at work were being constructed in traditional ways drawing on women’s perceived ‘soft skills’.‘Hybrid’ roles combining technical and traditionally female skills were seen as the way forward. These were presented as a new way for women to work in a male dominated environment without compromising their gendered identity. The article confirms and develops, in an IT context, the challenges inherent in changing gendered occupational roles and we conclude that traditional expectations and contexts persist.

A role‐based perspective on leadership decision taking

PurposeThis monograph seeks to summarise the key influences of a role‐based perspective on leadership when making decisions as to how organisational resources can best be deployed.Design/methodology/approachApplication of new frameworks provides insight into the leadership roles executives can adopt when part of formal, informal and temporary groups within the organisation's senior management team and those parts of the organisation for which they are responsible. The methodology adopted is qualitative, focusing on application of previously developed frameworks.FindingsAdoption of an appropriate leadership role, and the timely switch from one role to another as circumstances change, are found to facilitate improvement in the ability of executives to mobilise organisational resources, and in so doing effectively address those challenges with which the organisation is faced.Research limitations/implicationsA one‐organisation intensive case study of a multinational engineering company engaged in the design, development and manufacture of rotating turbomachinery provides the platform for the research. The research intent is to validate two frameworks in a different organisation of a similar demographic profile to those in which the frameworks were developed. The frameworks will require validating in organisations of different demographic profiles.Practical implicationsThe concepts advanced, and implications discussed, provide an insight into the role‐based nature of leadership. The practical steps individual executives can take to develop their ability to adopt different leadership roles are highlighted.Originality/valueThis monograph is an investigation into, and study of the contribution of theory that provides insight into, the process by which executives effectively mobilise organisational resources. This differs from the original contributions to theory, which focused on methodology, data gathering and validation in contrast with the current study that is focused on practical application.

Talking about…

Talking about…

Business agility and internal marketing

There is a concept known as the information technology paradox – where many senior managers in organisations recognise the worth of an effective information technology (IT) function but few truly understand its potential role and contribution in enhancing business value. Many reasons account for this paradox, which some have described as a “gap” or a poor relationship between the IT function and the rest of the organisation. The prevailing view is that it is not so much a question of technology content as technology context and process that provide the source to this gap. This paper focuses on the nature of this relationship and develops the concept of marketing the information systems/services (IS) function to its internal customers – internal marketing. Fundamentally, the same principles which are used to market solutions to the organisation's external customers can be employed to better segment, target and position the IS solutions to the internal customer base and these issues are explored.

A process perspective on leadership and team development

This monograph summarises the key influences of leadership behaviour on the transformation process associated with creation of an effective and high performing team. It clarifies the key factors that are relevant to a team at each stage of the transformation process and the leadership roles that each team member can play. The role of an organisation's senior management is considered both in terms of the impact it has on the transformation process within specific teams and in terms of creating the necessary organisational environment to make effective teams the norm. Some reasons why senior management behaviour is often perceived as inconsistent and unhelpful are explored. Specific recommendations are made to help senior managers to adapt their behaviour, and in so doing become more context‐sensitive to the needs of the environment as it changes. Some tools and techniques are presented that have been found in practice to help senior managers adapt their behaviour to that most appropriate at a given time, and to create the organisational infrastructure needed to make effective teams the organisational norm rather than the exception. A case study is presented illustrating the networked nature of leadership and the culture change associated with making effective teams “the way we do things around here.”