Generic Strategies, Leader Attributes, Environmental Uncertainty, and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Investigation of Contingencies and Configurational Outcomes

The implications of strategy, environmental uncertainty, and leader attributes to the performance of organizations have been the subject of many research studies. The traditional interaction-based contingency approach that has typically been used in the management literature for examining the interrelationships between these variables, may very often be inadequate to capture the overall pattern of fit among them. A contemporary approach that allows researchers to examine sophisticated relationships between variables is configuration or systems theory— which suggests that inevitable relationships exist between strategic, environmental, contextual, and organizational variables and performance. This study used both the interaction and configuration-based approaches to determine the performance implications of the contingencies and congruencies between strategy and leader attributes in an uncertain environment. A review of the literature— the basis for the formulation of the three contingency and one configuration-based hypotheses— on generic strategies, environmental uncertainty, and the relevant leader attributes was undertaken. From the generic strategies literature review, a conceptual synthesis of previous classification schemes was used to develop a set of attributes that was then used to measure the extent to which organizational leaders pursued the characteristics of different types of strategies. The measures for strategy and all the other variables/constructs were designed in the form of a questionnaire that was sent to the senior ministers of selected Arkansas Southern Baptist churches. Sampling from a religious institution is yet another contribution of this study, in that it adds to the limited number of studies that have investigated the management of these important but scientifically unexplored organizations. The collected data was analyzed in order to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that the variables in this study may have important performance implications. Furthermore, the findings support the call by previous researchers for using multiple approaches to examine the fit between organizational and contextual variables. Finally, the implications of the results of this study for contingency and configuration-based research and the strategic management field in general were also discussed

Prerequisite Coursework As A Predictor Of Performance In A Graduate Management Course

There have been many studies published concerning predictors of academic performance but few of these studies have examined the impact of prerequisites. As such, we investigated the impact of a prerequisite management course on graduate student performance in an Organizational Behavior (OB) course. In this longitudinal study, we explored predictors of performance in a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Organizational Behavior course. In particular, we found that the grade received in the prerequisite was positively related to subsequent performance in the Organizational Behavior course. In addition, mode of instruction (online versus on campus) was significantly and negatively related to the grade received in Organizational Behavior

Attitudes Toward Women as Managers In China: An Examination of Gender, Age, and Work Status Differences

A number of studies around the world have examined the attitudes toward women as managers. These studies have focused on developed as well as developing economies. The general consensus is that negative attitudes persist across various cultures. While the focus of most of these studies have been on gender differences, this study examined the impact of age and work status as differentiators of the attitudes toward women as managers. Results indicate that consistent with previous studies, men have more negative attitudes toward women as managers in China. Results also indicate that life stage affects Chinese attitudes toward women as managers

Gender and Generation: Job Expectations of Chinese Professionals and Students amid Complexity and Change

We note a challenging picture for prospective employers in China related to rapid economic growth and related heightening labor demand, concurrent with labor supply contraction and demographic changes. This research contributes to theoretical and practical understanding in this context, as findings reveal significant differences in mean importance scores for job expectations rated by professionals and students across gender. We suggest that, in order to survive and thrive in this complex and shifting labor market, Chinese firms must learn how to attract and retain the human resources most pivotal to their continuing succes