Supply Chain Information Systems and Organisational Performance in Economic Turbulent Times

Supply Chain Information Systems and their impact on organisational performance has been studied by a number of studies. This study seeks to extend this body of knowledge by adopting a fresh lens to explore empirically the relationship between organizational performance and SCIS in circumstances of economic downturn and financial turbulence. The statistical relationship between Supply Chain Information Systems (SCIS) ˜Effectiveness and ˜Organisational Performance is tested and measured by multidimensional financial and non-financial variables. So even though complexities associated with measuring SCIS efficiency and Organisational Performance continue to dominate research discussions these are somewhat limited to just explaining the phenomenon without addressing the misalignment of the information provided by SCIS, business expectations and Organisational Performance. In consequence this papers reports findings from a large survey of 168 SCIS managers in Greek SMEs where even through economic downturn a strong correlation between SCIS and non-financial Organisational Performance is evidenced. In considering the findings this study proposes guidance to enhance SCIS Effectiveness and Organisational Performance

When effects are confounded, they cannot be interpreted: A study of confounding in assessment centre ratings

Background. Dimensions (e.g., communication skills, health awareness) measured through multifaceted measures hold a key position across a vast array of disciplines relevant to health and organisations. However, the measurement properties of dimensions have long been affected by confounds. The outcome of confounding in the context of multifaceted measurement is that the extent to which reliable variance in ratings reflects dimensions is difficult or impossible to establish. Nowhere have dimensions been scrutinized more closely than in the literature on assessment centres (ACs). In recent years, dimensions have enjoyed a revival in the AC literature and now feature as important, meaningful, and impactful variables of interest in a range of different studies published in leading journals (e.g., Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology). However, none of these studies have fully accounted for confounding. As a consequence, the extent to which the effects found in these studies are attributable to dimensions, or to a multitude of other variables relevant to ACs, is unclear. This issue has implications for any context in which the aim is to measure dimensions using multiple samples of behaviour. Study Aim. Our aim is to disentangle the different effects in AC ratings in order to establish what role dimensions have in AC ratings as distinct from other effects in AC ratings (i.e., different samples, rating items, assessors, and exercises). Doing so would work towards informing the discipline about the "real" basis for AC ratings and, more widely, about the role of dimensions in multifaceted measures. Method. Ratings were collected from an operational AC used in a public institution. The AC under study was developed according to international guidelines. Data were subjected to a Bayesian random effects analysis. Results. Results suggested that when confounding is (properly) taken into account, AC ratings have little to do with dimensions. The lion's share of variance in AC ratings is accounted for by (a) a general performance factor and (b) exercise-related effects. Discussion. The findings of the current study call into question the interpretation of much of the "dimension revival" literature on ACs and the role of dimensions in organization-related studies. They suggest that if dimensions are the intended focus for assessment in ACs, an AC does not allow sufficient high fidelity behavioural sampling for such variables to manifest. In the light of these findings, we call for an alternative direction for AC research and practice

Well-Being and Empowerment Perceptions in a Sudden Shift to Working from Home

In the literature on the antecedents and mediators of employee well-being, there is little or no acknowledgement of sudden changes in the social and environmental context in which perceptions of well-being are formed. Contextual influences are rarely so impactful and unexpected as those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. To continue operating within lockdown restrictions, many organizations, apart from those unable or unwilling to initiate such changes, abruptly adopted a work from home (WFH) or hybrid working pattern. These circumstances raise novel questions about the influence of impactful, unanticipated contextual factors on employee well-being outcomes. To address these questions in the context of a shift to WFH, we tested a model adapted from aspects of Event Systems Theory (EST) and the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT). Central to our theoretical adaptation was a unique perspective on PWT “decent work” perceptions based on principles of empowerment. In a study of 337 employees during the lockdown period, we applied a Bayesian multilevel model to investigate the contrast between in-lockdown perceptions relative to current pre-lockdown perceptions. Results suggested the contextual shift to WFH related negatively to relative perceptions of well-being, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Empowerment significantly mediated all well-being outcomes. Organizational support, neuroticism, and home readiness related directly to empowerment and indirectly to well-being outcomes via empowerment. We discuss how sudden contextual changes interacted with relationships observed in our model, and how our findings progress a context-responsive adaptation of EST and PWT in the new world of WFH

Right Upper Lobe Shadow and Tracheobronchopathia Osteochondroplastica Confined to Right Main Bronchus: A Case Report and Literature Review

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TO) is a well documented benign entity of endoscopic interest. We describe a case of 76-year-old patient who presented with fever, cough, purulent sputum during the past four days, and presence of an ovoid shadow in right upper zone of his chest X-ray. Medical history included diagnosis of colon diverticuli identified by colonoscopy 3 months ago. Chest CT revealed a compact elongated lesion containing air-bronchogram stripes. Bronchoscopy showed normal upper airways and trachea but presence of unequal sized mucosal nodules, protruding into the lumen, along the entire length of the right main bronchial mucosa. No other abnormal findings were detected. Moreover, brushing and washing smears from the apical segment of right upper lobe (RUL), where the compact lesion was located, were negative for malignancy. Biopsy from the mucosal nodules of right main bronchus showed presence of cartilaginous tissue in continuity through thin pedicles with submucosal cartilage. This finding posed the diagnosis of TO while RUL lesion was cleared by antibiotic treatment. Case is reported because, to our knowledge, it represents a unique anatomic location of TO which was confined exclusively in the right main bronchus mucosa without affecting trachea

Crossover of work engagement: The moderating role of agreeableness

Work engagement can cross over from one individual to another, and this process may depend on several factors, such as the work context or individual differences. With this study, we argue that agreeableness, one of the Big five personality measures that characterized empathetic, can be instrumental in the crossover process. Specifically, we hypothesize that agreeableness can facilitate this process so that engagement of an actor can more easily cross over to their partner when either of them or both have high agreeableness. To evaluate our hypotheses, we implemented an intervention to the working schedules of 74 participants for two weeks. The intervention involved pairing participants to work together so that to create dyads with varying levels of dissimilarity. The results from a multilevel regression model indicate that there is a crossover effect and partner’s work engagement can be transferred to actor after a two-week collaboration. This effect is further intensified if either one or both members in the dyad are characterized by high levels of agreeableness. These findings help to decode the mechanisms underlying the crossover process and illustrate how to ideally coordinate work dyads to take advantage of the crossover effect and maximize employee engagement

Detecting Underground Military Structures Using Field Spectroscopy

Satellite remote sensing is considered as an increasingly important technology for detecting underground structures. It can be applied to a wide range of applications, as shown by various researchers. However, there is a great need to integrate information from a variety of sources, sent at different times and of different qualities using remote sensing tools. A SVC-HR1024 field spectroradiometer could be used, and in-band reflectance’s are determined for medium- and high-resolution satellite sensors, including Landsat. Areas covered by natural soil where underground structures are present or absent can easily be detected, as a result of the change in the spectral signature of the vegetation throughout the phenological stages; in this respect, vegetation indices (VIs) such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), simple ratio (SR), and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) may be used for this purpose. Notably, the SR vegetation index is useful for determining areas where military underground structures are present

Regional Employment in Greece by means of Cluster Analysis

This article attempts to group the regions of Greece into clusters with similar characteristics, by means of Cluster Analysis. The results demonstrate that the thirteen regions of Greece can be grouped in four major clusters, which are, in general terms, consistent with the findings of another research