A Real-World Negotiation Task for Real-time (Synchronous) Learning

This paper describes a negotiation task designed to introduce negotiation concepts to business students experientially in a manner that also has real consequences for the students. Students negotiate for a variety of actual items that they can take home or use in other ways. Furthermore, the task, previously done only in face-to-face classes, was recently reorganized to include both in person and remotely attending students. Both in person and remote students participate in the process and debriefing, and typically report that they enjoyed the exercise and felt engaged. This activity helps answer the need to provide complex and messy experiences during synchronous instruction that can help achieve the same gains typically provided by experiential learning within the in person classroom

Exploring the effect of unfair work contexts on the development of fairness beliefs

This paper examines what happens when individuals who perceive a fair situation discover that the situation is in fact, unfair. In a previous study, women who sued their universities discussed their initial expectations that the university would treat them fairly despite several studies that clearly indicated discrimination at universities is still a problem (Goltz, 2005a). Thus, using interview excerpts from this past study, the current paper explores how these women\u27s expectations of fairness may have been formed, as well as how they changed after a discriminatory experience. Results suggest that the women\u27s expectations of fairness arose in part from three values emerging during childhood: hard work, education, and self-sufficiency. In addition, the interviews indicated the women moved from stage 5 of Kohlberg\u27s model of moral development, where the belief is that justice can be negotiated in accepted social systems, to a belief that this may not always the case, but if enough people continue to pursue justice through accepted means, then the systems will eventually change. Implications of these results for research into models of moral development, psychological contracts, and organizational justice are discussed

Career expectations vs. experiences: The case of academic women

This qualitative study explored how women who filed complaints against their universities initially formed expectations when they joined their universities and how they later discovered their expectations were not met. Interviews suggested that as applicants the women assessed: 1) whether the university would provide an environment that would foster the achievement of their goals; 2) whether the university would reward their efforts and success; and 3) whether their individual characteristics matched the university\u27s needs. They also assumed that the university would be fair. Upon entering their universities, the women expected to exchange their abilities and hard work for the organization\u27s provision of an environment fostering success as well as rewards for that success. These expectations were not met when the women found they had to work in a difficult environment with inadequate resources and when they experienced few rewards from the organization for their achievements. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT

An Emotional Intelligence Model of Entrepreneurial Coping Strategies

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to recognize emotional intelligence (EI) as a specific emotional competency possessed by entrepreneurs that facilitates their coping with stressors that arise in their day-to-day work. Highlighting the problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies employed by entrepreneurs, the paper establishes that EI in entrepreneurs enables the onset of acceptance of the stressful situation and optimism that a stressful situation can be solved. Design: The paper reviews literature on the topics related to links between EI, entrepreneurial behaviors and entrepreneurial coping. Subsequently, acceptance-avoidance motivation theory is used to posit that entrepreneurs\u27 EI serves as an antecedent that (1) guides the selection of their coping strategies through the onset of optimism and acceptance of the stressful situation, (2) assists in perceiving those situations as either controllable or uncontrollable, and (3) shapes the actual process through which entrepreneurs cope. Findings: The proposed conceptual model asserts that entrepreneurs’ EI as reflected in their abilities to perceive, use, understand and regulate emotions, is key to their coping. EI in entrepreneurs assists them in being optimistic about solving a stressful situation and accepting of such situations as well. Thereafter, selection of a problem-focused or emotion-focused coping strategy or both ensues. Originality: The current work offers a conceptual model that highlights the role of entrepreneurs\u27 EI in coping, integrates both the cognitive and affective components of coping, and suggests a variety of avenues for future research. This model extends models of coping that categorize coping types to specify the process thought to be involved. Understanding the role of emotional intelligence in coping with stress by entrepreneurs has theoretical and practical implications which are discussed as well

Beyond social exchange theory: An integrative look at transcendent mental models for engagement

In this paper, we develop an integrative conceptual framework capturing the underlying mental models that guide engagement in relationships at work and elsewhere. Specifically, we are looking at mental models that go beyond egocentrism and social exchange, which have served as the basis for most frameworks found in research on organizations. The goal of this paper is to present a more complex picture of human cognition and behavior that suggests that egocentrism is not an exclusive motivator. We view this more integrative framework as a set of concentric circles of increasingly inclusive and expansive identities. Although the mental models used by individuals may be static over a shorter time frame, they are thought to be more dynamic over a relatively longer timeframe, in adaptive response to changing conditions. Movement between these mental models can be triggered by changes in cognitions as well as by events that arouse affect

You Can’t Get There From Here: Implications of the Walmart v. Dukes Decision for Addressing Second-Generation Discrimination

In Wal-Mart v. Dukes, the Supreme Court determined the plaintiffs had not shown, based on the evidence, that there were questions of law or fact common to the class. The allegedly discriminatory decisions had been made by individual supervisors at different stores who had been given discretion by Wal-Mart to make pay and promotion decisions. The Court stated the problem was that there was no specific evidence that all the discretionary decisions were made in a manner that reflected gender bias. This case not only reversed decades of court acceptance of social framework evidence in employment litigation but also insulates businesses from class action suits by imposing a huge barrier to class certification. This Article first reviews the Wal-Mart v. Dukes decision with respect to how it adversely affects the viability of class action suits that have historically provided recourse for individuals who are less able to pursue individual claims of discrimination. This Article then examines implications of Dukes and other decisions for the court’s ability to address the problem of second-generation discrimination. In particular, we focus on the difficulties created by requiring the application of a clearly defined policy and practice to all cases involved. Finally, this Article suggests that given that policy and practice continue to be a requirement for class certification, one could meet this requirement by reframing classes using a theory analogous to the “fraud on the market” doctrine employed in securities cases. In other words, organizations that have a policy of nondiscrimination but allow individual managers to make employment decisions any way the managers please could be viewed as perpetuating a type of “fraud-on-the-employment market” in which plaintiffs have relied on a material misstatement of fact when accepting their positions

You Can’t Get There From Here: Implications of the Walmart v. Dukes Decision for Addressing Second-Generation Discrimination

In Wal-Mart v. Dukes, the Supreme Court determined the plaintiffs had not shown, based on the evidence, that there were questions of law or fact common to the class. The allegedly discriminatory decisions had been made by individual supervisors at different stores who had been given discretion by Wal-Mart to make pay and promotion decisions. The Court stated the problem was that there was no specific evidence that all the discretionary decisions were made in a manner that reflected gender bias. This case not only reversed decades of court acceptance of social framework evidence in employment litigation but also insulates businesses from class action suits by imposing a huge barrier to class certification. This Article first reviews the Wal-Mart v. Dukes decision with respect to how it adversely affects the viability of class action suits that have historically provided recourse for individuals who are less able to pursue individual claims of discrimination. This Article then examines implications of Dukes and other decisions for the court’s ability to address the problem of second-generation discrimination. In particular, we focus on the difficulties created by requiring the application of a clearly defined policy and practice to all cases involved. Finally, this Article suggests that given that policy and practice continue to be a requirement for class certification, one could meet this requirement by reframing classes using a theory analogous to the “fraud on the market” doctrine employed in securities cases. In other words, organizations that have a policy of nondiscrimination but allow individual managers to make employment decisions any way the managers please could be viewed as perpetuating a type of “fraud-on-the-employment market” in which plaintiffs have relied on a material misstatement of fact when accepting their positions

Applying Indices Post-\u3ci\u3eGrutter\u3c/i\u3e to Monitor Progress Toward Attaining a Diverse Student Body

The Supreme Court decision in Grutter v. Bollinger provided more definitive guidance for institutions of higher education desiring to use racial preferences in an effort to achieve a diverse student body. This Article first examines Grutter and other relevant cases to set forth the parameters established by the Supreme Court concerning how university preferences, including but not limited to race, may be used in an admissions policy. This Article then provides a framework for creating and using diversity indices that can help institutions implement the guidelines found in these court decisions and monitor whether or not the goal of diversity has been met. The Article describes a hypothetical situation, illustrating how diversity indices can be used in a manner that conforms to the admissions policy parameters established by the Supreme Court

Applying Indices Post-\u3ci\u3eGrutter\u3c/i\u3e to Monitor Progress Toward Attaining a Diverse Student Body

The Supreme Court decision in Grutter v. Bollinger provided more definitive guidance for institutions of higher education desiring to use racial preferences in an effort to achieve a diverse student body. This Article first examines Grutter and other relevant cases to set forth the parameters established by the Supreme Court concerning how university preferences, including but not limited to race, may be used in an admissions policy. This Article then provides a framework for creating and using diversity indices that can help institutions implement the guidelines found in these court decisions and monitor whether or not the goal of diversity has been met. The Article describes a hypothetical situation, illustrating how diversity indices can be used in a manner that conforms to the admissions policy parameters established by the Supreme Court