7,629 research outputs found
Leader delegation and trust in global software teams
Virtual teams are an important work structure in global software development. The distributed team structure enables access to a diverse set of expertise which is often not available in one location, to a cheaper labor force, and to a potentially accelerated development process that uses a twenty-four hour work structure.
Many software teams are partially distributed, that is, part of the team is colocated. Such partially distributed global software teams are an important work structure in software development projects. However, little is known about what affects or improves team membersâ motivation and job satisfaction in the partially distributed environment. This study investigates the effects of leader delegation to sub-teams and trust between sub-teams on global software team membersâ motivation and job satisfaction. It proposes a research framework based on specific hypotheses regarding these effects. A survey instrument was created and a pilot study conducted on student project teams in two U.S. universities. In addition, a study combining interviews and a survey distribution using industry software development teams was also conducted. The studies found that team competence predicts leader delegation to a sub-team in global software projects. Leader delegation related to teamwork process improves team membersâ motivation and satisfaction with the leader. However, leader delegation may also generate negative consequences for the sub-teams, such as anxiety and pressure. Cultural distance and geographical distance impair trust development between members across sub-teams. Temporal distance causes conflicts related to excessive overtime and meeting scheduling. Trust in sub-teams is critical to improving motivation in a global software project. In addition, this study explores the impacts of language differences and software engineering profession culture on global software team membersâ interactions. Suggestions are proposed for how to shape delegation strategies in partially distributed global software projects and how to improve team membersâ trust in each other and their motivation. This work provides important findings for organizations interested in developing leadership skills for global software teams and retaining IT professionals at distributed sites
Leading and Working From Home in Times of COVID-19:On the Perceived Changes in Leadership Behaviors
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, managers and employees in many organizations suddenly are forced to work from home. Although working from home (WFH) is not a new phenomenon, it is new in its current scale and scope because of COVID-19. Against this background, we investigate the effect of WFH during the COVID-19 crisis on changes in leadership behaviors, and associated changes in perceived manager quality and productivity, at different hierarchical levels in organizations. Based on the literature, we develop two predictions in opposite directions. On the one hand, implementing WFH may force managers to show less direction and control and especially more delegation. On the other hand, research into the effects of exogenous shocks such as COVID-19, suggests that managers may become more controlling and delegate less. Consistent with the first prediction, we find that managers perceive they execute significantly less control and delegate more. Employees also perceive a significant decrease in control, however they perceive on average no change in delegation. Furthermore, and in line with the second prediction, employees of lower-level managers even report a significant decrease in delegation. Finally, our results show that increased delegation is associated with increased perceived productivity and higher manager quality. Together, these results suggest that in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the effectiveness of WFH might be hampered by the fact that required changes in leadership behaviors, in particular in delegation, are difficult to realize in times of crisis
Financial industry in transformation: case research on the contemporary understanding and application of leadership in a large Swiss bank
Leaders in banks are particularly concerned with change, as the financial industry is in a transitional phase induced by crisis and regulatory development. With this qualitative case study, Wealth Management leaders in the large Swiss bank, the UBS, were examined. In particular, the research addresses bank leadersâ understanding and practice of contemporary leadership being influenced by the transformation in Switzerlandâs financial industry. An integrative approach to leadership is adopted combining individual and mutual understanding and application that offers new insight and expansion of current thinking with the tentative case model of âthe hybrid approach to heroic leadershipâ embedding a mutual notion
Organizational Management of Distance Learning: An Analysis of Teacher Feedback Throughout Hampton Roads Public High Schools During the Covid-19 Pandemic Response
Public schools throughout the United States experienced closures and transitions to online curriculum in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of the policies and strategies implemented to manage teaching faculty were hastily designed and employed out of necessity. This study sought to examine organizational management policies and strategies throughout public high schools in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia through teaching faculty perspectives. This cross-sectional study examined descriptive and correlational statistics of survey responses to determine and evaluate how schools managed communication, responsibilities and delegation, and training for distance learning in order to provide policy recommendations for the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergency action plans. Results from the survey indicated mostly positive teacher feedback to policies and strategies on communication and training. While the research did not find policies and strategies for responsibilities and delegation consistent throughout schools in region, this research discovered correlations between teachersâ opinions and organizational strategies for delegation. Finally, this study provides practical recommendations as well as considerations for further research on organizational management in public schools
Satisfaction with an expatriate job : the role of physical and functional distance between expatriate and supervisor
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to focus on satisfaction with an expatriate job and how such satisfaction is linked to leadership. Specifically, this research examines how two different kinds of distances â physical distance and functional distance â between an expatriate and his/her supervisor are related to satisfaction with the expatriate job.
Design/methodology/approach - The study was conducted among 290 Finnish expatriates. Moderated hierarchical regression analysis was conducted in order to test the research hypothesis.
Findings - The results show that low functional distance with a supervisor is related to greater satisfaction with the expatriate job. The physical distance is not directly connected to expatriate job satisfaction, but the common effect of the two types of distance shows that among those whose functional distance is low, working in the same country with the leader is linked to greater expatriate satisfaction than recorded among those who were physically distant. Interestingly, expatriates with high functional distance are more satisfied with the expatriate job if they work in a different country to their supervisor.
Originality/value - This study makes a contribution in three areas; first, it addresses the understudied phenomena of international work-specific job satisfaction, specifically satisfaction with an expatriate job. Second, it provides new knowledge on the outcomes of leader distance in the context of expatriation, a work situation that is inherently related to changes in physical location and to organizational relationships. Third, it contributes to leadership literature and highlights the importance of the conditions and the context in which leadership occurs.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed
The Effects of Participative Leadership Practices on Job Satisfaction for Highly Skilled Virtual Teams
Virtual-team professionals have reported experiencing low job satisfaction due to lack of face-to-face interaction leading to stress, miscommunication, and role-confusion. Dissatisfaction among virtual teams has increased turnover and management costs for organizations. Despite these known associations, there was a gap in the literature investigating efficient leadership practices to improve job satisfaction for highly skilled virtual teams. Participative leadership offers an effective approach to increase job satisfaction among face-to-face teams and innovative teams. This study explored the relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction among highly skilled virtual teams within the global software industry. A quantitative study with a correlational design was utilized among 173 participants from the International Association for Software Architects. Participants took a voluntary online survey by responding to an invitation post on the group LinkedIn page. The questionnaire included participative leadership scale (Ismail, Zainuddin, & Ibrahim, 2010), job satisfaction scale (Wall, Cook, & Warr, 1979), and demographic questions. Correlation analysis indicated that there was a positive relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction, r(172) = .67, p \u3c .001. Regression analysis revealed that job position had a control effect on job satisfaction, F(2, 170) = 89.46, p \u3c .001, R2 = .51. Higher-ranked professionals enjoyed higher job satisfaction when participative leadership was present. Study results are beneficial for global software organizations to streamline leadership practices for highly skilled virtual teams to ensure high levels of job satisfaction. Ensuring high job satisfaction among skilled global talent helps innovative organizations cut costs, increase competitive advantage, and ensure high work quality
The Perspectives Of Saudi Arabian Professionals Regarding the Most Important Soft Skills for Leaders to Possess in Telecommuting Environments during Crisis: A Q Methodology Study
The purpose of this Q methodology study was to explore Saudi Arabian professionalsâ perspectives regarding the soft skills they considered most important for leaders to possess in telecommuting environments during crises.
Q methodology was developed to study human subjectivity and uses both quantitative and qualitative procedures to do so. As is the convention for a Q methodology study, a single question guided the research: What are the perspectives collectively held among Saudi Arabian professionals regarding the soft skills they consider most important for leaders to possess in telecommuting environments during crises?
The researcher developed a 44-item Q sample of opinion statements, each reflecting an important soft skill. The researcher recruited 44 participants using purposeful and snowball sampling techniques. These 44 participants sorted the 44-item Q sample into a forced distribution in ways that reflected their perspectives. The researcher subjected the 44 Q sorts to a series of statistical procedures: first correlations were identified among the sorts and then those correlations were factor analyzed, rotated, and extracted. These procedures produced 6 distinct perspectives which were named Communicating Stability by Modeling Reliability, Honesty, and Credibility; Listening, Disclosing, Engaging, and Inviting Bidirectional Communication; Ethical Exemplars through Fairness, Goodness, and High Moral Values; Capable Solutions-Oriented Leadership; Future Orientation, Confidence, and Big Picture Leadership; and Leadership Skills that Convey Stability, Clarity, and Strength. Findings from this study hold implications that include how businesses and other organizations in Saudi Arabia might incorporate efforts to facilitate leader development of soft skills to better prepare organizations to respond to any future disruptive crises
The role of intercultural communication competences in building a sustainable global society
ArtykuĆ recenzowany / Peer-reviewed articleThis text is an attempt at the analysis of selected cultural codes in the context of their use in the process of communication between individuals who are members of different cultures. The level of effective communication determines the efficiency of processes going on in many areas, including management and building a varied society, where multiculturalism is becoming more and more common. As a result of current events and circumstances, many countries where the issue of multiculturalism seemed a challenge of quite a distant future must now face new problems - fast-paced globalisation that requires negotiation competences in different cultures or increasing numbers of migrants, also as employees. Analysing the issue of intercultural competences the authors concentrate on showing cultural differences as barriers in communication between individuals and on emphasising their sources for the understanding of these differences. Thus authors hope that this text will contribute to understanding the essence of communication competences in a global multicultural society, also for its sustained development. Moreover, the article shows perspectives for the application of communication processes in solving intercultural conflicts and in creating new types of intercultural relations in a global society
Groupthink 2.0: An empirical analysis of customers' conformity-seeking in online communities
Online communities have witnessed an ongoing interest from both digital practitioners and scholars alike. Whilst the motives for and outcomes of customers' participation have been convincingly evidenced, there is a lack of conceptual and empirical understanding on the decision-making processes within virtual groups. This study employs Janis' (1972) Groupthink theory to investigate customers' tendency to conform when making decisions in a financial online community. Based on a sample of 343 respondents and multiple regression analysis, it is shown that perceived stress and group insulation have a positive influence upon Groupthink, whilst group cohesion has a negative effect. The findings support the applicability of Groupthink theory in an online context and emphasise defective social decision-making processes in online communities as a key priority for future research. Digital marketers gain insight on strategies to manage their customers' conformity-seeking tendencies and to prevent dysfunctional decision-making processes
A Program for Prevention and Intervention of Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Among Pastors in the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Problem
The membership of the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventist has surged to over 50,000 over the ten year period, 1997-2006; however, the professional Adventist clergy group has experienced a decrease over the same time periodâfrom thirty-three to twenty-seven ministers (Guyana Conference of SDA Statistics). The ratio of clergy to laity is, thus, 1:1853, where it was previously 1:1039. Consequently, ministers in the Guyana Conference of SDA are likely to become victims of burnoutâand its compassion fatigue formâas they encounter the demands of ministry.
Methods and Procedures
Following the case study method of qualitative research, the researcher utilized Eisnerâs (1998) self as an instrument theory. He suggested that there is valuable information to be gleaned when self is utilized, since each personâs life experiences are unique. Thus, self as an instrument is not a disadvantage but an asset to research. In addition, Eisner (1998, p. 34) states that âthe self is the instrument that engages in the situation and makes sense of it.â This project is designed to be utilized as a seminar consisting of six presentations for ministers. The researcherâs personal experience-validated by collegial conversations was coupled with information gleaned from significant literature for the development of this seminar. The presentations, as they seek to educate ministers about these phenomena are accompanied by activities for participants to become involved in a practical way.
Anticipated Outcomes
The discussion and investigation of this phenomenon----burnout, defined by Freudenberger and Richelson (1980) as âa debilitating psychological condition brought about by unrelieved work stress,, and its compassion fatigue form-which is associated with the physical, emotional/psychological, and mental price caregivers pay when attending to others who have experienced trauma or emotional aches (Figley, 1995a)â revealed that ministers fall prey as a result of the simple fact that most people turn to their faith or religious beliefs when they are confronted with crisis or traumatic circumstances. Thus, clergy are called upon in these times of personal, familial, and community stress. Also, ministers are faced with job stress as a result of the demands of the work defined by such factors as one minister pastoring numerous churches/members owing to the migration of many ministers. i After interaction with the information shared in each seminar, ministers will be more aware of the reality and dangers of these phenomena, and will be better equipped to prevent the same.
Conclusion
On the whole, the call to ministry is neither fleeting nor temporary; instead, it is permanent. It is the service of a lifetime. Healthâboth physical and spiritualâis needed for a minister to endure in this lifetime of service. S/he therefore cannot afford to work without pacing her/himself to finish the race. For this reason, the ministry calls for wise use of resources, not only those available in the form of human personnel who may be utilized through team ministry, but also the ministerâs energy. As was noted earlier, this project contains tools that will equip the minister to be effective in ministry, while maintaining longevity; thus, burnout and compassion fatigue can be readily recognized and addressed so that ministers can continue to serve Godâs children effectively
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