263,453 research outputs found

    Measuring and Linking School Professional Learning Environment Characteristics, Teacher Self and Organizational Efficacy, Receptivity to Change, and Multiple Indices of School Effectiveness.

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    During the past two decades, several important lines of inquiry have been developed to study the complex organizational and learning environment features of schools. In addition, researchers, theorists and educational policy makers have become increasingly concerned about educational reform and change, and with establishing linkages between educational improvement efforts and the effectiveness of schools. The extant school effectiveness and effects literatures have primarily focused on student achievement as the school outcome/productivity variable of concern. Alternatively, the literature on the study of schools as organizations has primarily focused on the measurement of school organizational, cultural and environmental variables and linkages of these to the efficiency, adaptability and general productivity of schools as organizational units. This study addresses the need to develop more comprehensive, integrated conceptual frameworks for studying schools that utilize multiple indices of school effectiveness, and that link these indices to school organizational, environmental and personal variables. Teachers (n = 1041) drawn from fifty-three schools in a large, urban/suburban school district in a southeastern state participated in the study. Survey data were collected using original measures of teacher self and organizational efficacies and characteristics of the professional learning environment of schools, and a revised measure of teacher receptivity to change. These variables were subsequently linked to multiple indices of school productivity, holding power and organizational effectiveness. The study variables were organized, and exploratory data analyses were completed in view of a Model of School Change and Effectiveness (MSCE) specifically developed for the study. Major results of the study showed that the measures of teacher efficacy and the professional learning environment characteristics of schools demonstrate adequate construct validity and reliability. Primary linkages in the MSCE were established between the teacher efficacy and learning environment variables and school organizational effectiveness, rather than student productivity (achievement) and school holding power (student attendance). The empirical structure of the teacher efficacy measure suggested that self and organizational efficacies become unitary teacher perceptions in view of a history of repeated school failures. Comparisons of results for between and within school analyses documented a series of important methodological and conceptual concerns for those pursuing research on schools as organizations and school effectiveness. The importance of integrating quantitative and qualitative methodologies and various units of analysis in future research to establish greater sensitivity to school context variables was noted. Implications of the findings for future theory development and research on schools and for integrating existing, multiple lines of inquiry on school effectiveness and effects were given

    Sustainable and traditional product innovation without scale and experience, but only for KIBS!

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    This study analyzes the ideal strategic trajectory for sustainable and traditional product innovation. Using a sample of 74 Costa Rican high-performance businesses for 2016, we employ fuzzy set analysis (qualitative comparative analysis) to evaluate how the development of sustainable and traditional product innovation strategies is conditioned by the business’ learning capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation in knowledge-intensive (KIBS) and non-knowledge-intensive businesses. The results indicate two ideal strategic configurations of product innovation. The first strategic configuration to reach maximum product innovation requires the presence of KIBS firms that have both an entrepreneurial and learning orientation, while the second configuration is specific to non-KIBS firms with greater firm size and age along with entrepreneurial and learning orientation. KIBS firms are found to leverage the knowledge-based and customer orientations that characterize their business model in order to compensate for the shortage of important organizational characteristics—which we link to liabilities or smallness and newness—required to achieve optimal sustainable and traditional product innovation.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

    Communication Confidence in Confronting Unethical Behavior: Scale Development and Validation

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    This study describes a new construct, self-perceived communication confidence in confronting unethical behavior (SPC@CUB) as well as develops and validates an original 25-item instrument to measure this construct. This study contributes to the extant literature on communication competence, communication apprehension, organizational ethics, and organizational moral learning, and has implications for the growing literature on bystander intervention training. This investigation followed scholarly recommendations on scale development, which included a pilot study, expert review, exploratory factor analysis, and an assessment of convergent, divergent, and predictive validity with multiple, established measures. It was hypothesized that the SPC@CUB measure would include three facets: apprehension, competence, and voice efficacy. Additionally, it was hypothesized that the SPC@CUB measure would converge with four validated measures: (a) organizational commitment, (b) self-efficacy, (c) communication competence, and (d) experience managing personnel. Additionally, it was hypothesized that the SPC@CUB measure would diverge from three validated measures: (a) personal report of communication apprehension, (b) directness (avoidance-approach), and (c) verbal aggressiveness. Lastly, it was hypothesized that the SPC@CUB measure would predict two variables: (a) group ethical voice and (b) psychological safety. A pilot sample of full-time working adults (N = 109) participated in the initial survey design instrument, which included 22 items designed to measure communication competence and communication apprehension in confronting minor unethical behavior. As expected, results of the factor analysis indicated the measure was comprised of two factors: communication apprehension and communication competence, with strong reliability ( = .95). Based on feedback from the pilot study, expert review, and additional literature review, a full-study version of the measure was modified to include a total of 59 items reflecting the constructs of communication apprehension, communication competence, and voice efficacy. In the full study, a sample of full-time working adults (N = 600) was collected. Results of a maximum likelihood analysis revealed a two-factor model related to communication competence and voice efficacy. The final SPC@CUB measure was constituted by 25 items and two subscales (i.e., SPC@CUBcompetence and SPC@CUBfruitful). As hypothesized, one or more of the SPC@CUB measures converged with organizational commitment, self-efficacy, communication competence, and experience managing personnel; the new measure demonstrated discriminant validity with communication apprehension, unwillingness to communicate, verbal aggressiveness and predicted group ethical voice and psychological safety. This study contributes to organizational communication research in several ways: First, this study contributes further evidence to the communication competence literature that speech context is influential in determining one’s self-perceived communication competence. Second, this study contributes to the organizational moral learning literature the idea that practicing difficult discussions involving ethical confrontation may result in greater organizational moral learning capacity by bolstering self-perceived communication competence in confronting unethical behavior. Third, these results contribute to the bystander intervention literature the implication that SPC@CUBcompetence may need to be trained in tandem with bystander intervention training to maximize the training strategy’s effectiveness. Fourth, these findings contribute to the organizational communication literature the idea that the SPC@CUB constructs have important implications for creating and sustaining ethically excellent organizational culture. Lastly, this investigation contributes to the communication competence and communication anxiety literature based on the idea that communication competence may ameliorate the anxiety-producing event of confronting a co-worker about his or her unethical behavior. This study concludes with future directions for research, practical implications, and limitations

    Data Envelopment Analysis (Dea) approach In efficiency transport manufacturing industry in Malaysia

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    The objective of this study was to measure of technical efficiency, transport manufacturing industry in Malaysia score using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) from 2005 to 2010. The efficiency score analysis used only two inputs, i.e., capital and labor and one output i.e., total of sales. The results shown that the average efficiency score of the Banker, Charnes, Cooper - Variable Returns to Scale (BCC-VRS) model is higher than the Charnes, Cooper, Rhodes - Constant Return to Scale (CCR-CRS) model. Based on the BCC-VRS model, the average efficiency score was at a moderate level and only four sub-industry that recorded an average efficiency score more than 0.50 percent during the period study. The implication of this result suggests that the transport manufacturing industry needs to increase investment, especially in human capital such as employee training, increase communication expenses such as ICT and carry out joint ventures as well as research and development activities to enhance industry efficiency

    Managing knowledge in organizations : a Nonaka’s SECI model operationalization

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    Purpose: The SECI model (Nonaka, 1994) is the best-known conceptual framework for understanding knowledge generation processes in organizations. To date, however, empirical support for this framework has been overlooked. The present study aims to provide an evidence-based groundwork for the SECI model by testing a multidimensional questionnaire Knowledge Management SECI Processes Questionnaire (KMSP-Q) designed to capture the knowledge conversion modes theorized by Nonaka. Methodology: In a twofold study, the SECI model was operationalized via the KMSP-Q. Specifically, Study One tested its eight-dimensional structure through exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses on 372 employees from different sectors. Study Two examined the construct validity and reliability by replicating the KMSP-Q factor structure in knowledge-intensive contexts (on a sample of 466 health-workers), and by investigating the unique impact of each dimension on some organizational outcomes (i.e., performance, innovativeness, collective efficacy). Findings: The overall findings highlighted that the KMSP-Q is a psychometrically robust questionnaire in terms of both dimensionality and construct validity, the different knowledge generation dimensions being specifically linked to different organizational outcomes. Research/Practical Implications: The KMSP-Q actualizes and provides empirical consistency to the theory underlying the SECI model. Moreover, it allows for the monitoring of an organization’s capability to manage new knowledge and detect the strengths/weaknesses of KM-related policies and programs. Originality/Value: This paper proposes a comprehensive measure of knowledge generation in work contexts, highlighting processes that organizations are likely to promote in order to improve their performance through the management of their knowledge resources

    The organizational design of nonprofits for people with disabilities

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    Utilizando información obtenida de los directivos de 105 pequeñas organizaciones sin fines de lucro españolas que, en el año 2007, se dedicaban a la prestación de servicios a personas con discapacidad, hemos analizado como el diseño organizativo –en concreto, los sistemas de recompensas extrínsecas e intrínsecas- influye sobre la delegación, la motivación y la transferencia de conocimiento a la hora de lograr el objetivo de la organización consistente en mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas que viven con una discapacidad. Los resultados muestran que, debido a la carencia de conocimiento técnico, los directivos de estas entidades no lucrativas (ENL) deben delegar derechos de decisión en empleados cualificados y utilizar en mayor medida recompensas intrínsecas y extrínsecas para motivar a los empleados a que transmitan conocimiento entre ellos eficientemente.We use data obtained from managers of 105 small nonprofit organizations (NPOs) providing services to people with disabilities in Spain in 2007 to examine how organizational design—particularly, extrinsic and intrinsic reward systems—impacts delegation, motivation, and knowledge transfer to achieve the NPO’s goal to improve the lives of persons living with disabilities. We find that, due to lack of technical knowledge, managers of these NPOs must delegate decision rights to qualified employees and that they successfully use a higher degree of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards to motivate employees to transfer knowledge among themselves efficiently

    Operational Capabilities: The Secret Ingredient

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    We develop a theoretical definition of operational capabilities, based on the strategic management and operations management literature, and differentiate this construct from the related constructs of resources and operational practices, drawing upon the resourcebased view of the firm as our foundation. We illustrate the key features of operational capabilities using the illustration of a restaurant kitchen. Because the traits of operational capabilities are distinct, they create a barrier to imitation, making them a potential source of competitive advantage. However, operational capabilities are particularly challenging to measure, because they emerge gradually and are tacit, embedded, and manifested differently across firms. In solving this measurement conundrum, we draw upon similar situations experienced by Schein (2004) and Eisenhardt and Martin (2000) in operationalizing organizational culture and dynamic capabilities. A taxonomy of six emergent operational capabilities is developed: operational improvement, operational innovation, operational customization, operational cooperation, operational responsiveness, and operational reconfiguration. A set of measurement scales is developed, in order to measure each of the operational capabilities, and validated using two different datasets. This allows replication of the psychometric properties of the multi-item scales and helps to ensure the validity of the resulting measures

    The mediation between participative leadership and employee exploratory innovation: Examining intermediate knowledge mechanisms

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    The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.We examine mediation effects of coworker knowledge sharing and absorptive capacity on the participative leadership–employee exploratory innovation relationship in R&D units of Taiwanese technology firms. Deploying a time-lagged questionnaire method implemented over four business quarters, data is generated from 1600 paired samples (managers and employees) in R&D units of Taiwanese technology firms. The structural equation modeling results reveal that (1) participative leadership is positively related to employee exploratory innovation; (2) coworker knowledge and (3) absorptive capacity partially mediate the relationship between participative leadership and employee exploratory innovation independently; and, (4) coworker knowledge sharing in combination with absorptive capacity partially mediates this relationship. The results extend previous research on participative leadership and innovation by demonstrating that participative leadership is related to employee exploratory innovation (Lee and Meyer-Doyle, 2017; Mom et al., 2009).Results also confirm that participative leadership drives employee exploratory innovation through employee absorptive capacity. This reinforces the need highlighted by Lane et al. (2006) to investigate the role of absorptive capacity at the individual-level. Collectively, while participative leadership is important for employee exploratory innovation it is the knowledge mechanisms existing and interacting at the employee-level that are central to generating increased employee exploratory innovation from this leadership approach

    Assessing safety climate in acute hospital settings: a systematic review of the adequacy of the psychometric properties of survey measurement tools

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    Background: The perceived importance of safety culture in improving patient safety and its impact on patient outcomes has led to a growing interest in the assessment of safety climate in healthcare organizations; however, the rigour with which safety climate tools were developed and psychometrically tested was shown to be variable. This paper aims to identify and review questionnaire studies designed to measure safety climate in acute hospital settings, in order to assess the adequacy of reported psychometric properties of identified tools. Methods: A systematic review of published empirical literature was undertaken to examine sample characteristics and instrument details including safety climate dimensions, origin and theoretical basis, and extent of psychometric evaluation (content validity, criterion validity, construct validity and internal reliability). Results: Five questionnaire tools, designed for general evaluation of safety climate in acute hospital settings, were included. Detailed inspection revealed ambiguity around concepts of safety culture and climate, safety climate dimensions and the methodological rigour associated with the design of these measures. Standard reporting of the psychometric properties of developed questionnaires was variable, although evidence of an improving trend in the quality of the reported psychometric properties of studies was noted. Evidence of the theoretical underpinnings of climate tools was limited, while a lack of clarity in the relationship between safety culture and patient outcome measures still exists. Conclusions: Evidence of the adequacy of the psychometric development of safety climate questionnaire tools is still limited. Research is necessary to resolve the controversies in the definitions and dimensions of safety culture and climate in healthcare and identify related inconsistencies. More importance should be given to the appropriate validation of safety climate questionnaires before extending their usage in healthcare contexts different from those in which they were originally developed. Mixed methods research to understand why psychometric assessment and measurement reporting practices can be inadequate and lacking in a theoretical basis is also necessary

    Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: a consolidated framework for advancing implementation science

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    Abstract Background Many interventions found to be effective in health services research studies fail to translate into meaningful patient care outcomes across multiple contexts. Health services researchers recognize the need to evaluate not only summative outcomes but also formative outcomes to assess the extent to which implementation is effective in a specific setting, prolongs sustainability, and promotes dissemination into other settings. Many implementation theories have been published to help promote effective implementation. However, they overlap considerably in the constructs included in individual theories, and a comparison of theories reveals that each is missing important constructs included in other theories. In addition, terminology and definitions are not consistent across theories. We describe the Consolidated Framework For Implementation Research (CFIR) that offers an overarching typology to promote implementation theory development and verification about what works where and why across multiple contexts. Methods We used a snowball sampling approach to identify published theories that were evaluated to identify constructs based on strength of conceptual or empirical support for influence on implementation, consistency in definitions, alignment with our own findings, and potential for measurement. We combined constructs across published theories that had different labels but were redundant or overlapping in definition, and we parsed apart constructs that conflated underlying concepts. Results The CFIR is composed of five major domains: intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of the individuals involved, and the process of implementation. Eight constructs were identified related to the intervention (e.g., evidence strength and quality), four constructs were identified related to outer setting (e.g., patient needs and resources), 12 constructs were identified related to inner setting (e.g., culture, leadership engagement), five constructs were identified related to individual characteristics, and eight constructs were identified related to process (e.g., plan, evaluate, and reflect). We present explicit definitions for each construct. Conclusion The CFIR provides a pragmatic structure for approaching complex, interacting, multi-level, and transient states of constructs in the real world by embracing, consolidating, and unifying key constructs from published implementation theories. It can be used to guide formative evaluations and build the implementation knowledge base across multiple studies and settings.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78272/1/1748-5908-4-50.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78272/2/1748-5908-4-50-S1.PDFhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78272/3/1748-5908-4-50-S3.PDFhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78272/4/1748-5908-4-50-S4.PDFhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78272/5/1748-5908-4-50.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78272/6/1748-5908-4-50-S2.PDFPeer Reviewe
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