The moderating effects of transformational leadership and self-worth in the idiosyncratic deals - employee reactions relationship:A study of Indian hospitality industry

Purpose This paper examines the relationship between timing of negotiations and idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) through the moderating effects of core self-evaluations (CSE), and between i-deals and employee reactions through the moderating effects of transformational leadership behaviour (TLB) in the Indian hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach A total of 275 employees working in 39 companies responded to a self-administered questionnaire. To test the research hypotheses, the methodology of structural equation models was used. Findings The results show that the relationship between before hiring negotiations and i-deals is stronger for those individuals who had low self-worth, due to countervailing forces created by their belief that they may not be eligible for i-deals. In contrast, the relationship between after hiring negotiations and i-deals is stronger for those who had high self-worth, due to their belief that they were entitled to i-deals. Additionally, the research highlights that the relationship between i-deals and employee reactions is stronger for those organisations, which are high on TLB. Research limitations/implications The data does not allow for investigating dynamic causal inferences, because they were collected using a questionnaire at a single point in time, and they were reported in retrospect, raising measurement concerns about recall bias. Practical implications From a managerial point of view, the findings of this study inform that in negotiating both employment conditions and work arrangements, organisations should try to achieve i-deals that are primarily flexibility focused, and that in increasing efficiency organisations should make the employees feel well supported in order to develop more confidence in deploying skills and abilities to address a more open view of their i-deals. Originality/value The study contributes to our understanding about the Indian hospitality industry by utilising the self-enhancement theory in examining whether individual differences moderate the relationship between the timing of negotiations and i-deals, and also by utilizing the social exchange theory to examine whether TLB moderates the relationship between i-deals and employee reactions

HR outsourcing:The impact on HR's strategic role and remaining in-house HR function

Past research on HR outsourcing (HRO) has offered conflicting views about its impact on HR's strategic position. This study highlights the processes by which decisions to outsource HR are made, followed by the processes implemented post such decisions and their effect on the HR function. Using a case study approach and semi-structured interviews (N = 35) within a German subsidiary of a US MNC, we provide a framework of HR processes seeking to achieve standardization in terms of harmonization of HR activities across the subsidiary. The findings reveal that the effects of outsourcing on in-house HR showed a decrease in flexibility of the HR function, a slowdown in processing time of transactional HR as well as a decrease in satisfaction and work intensification for HR managers. Further, it remains questionable as to whether the function of HR was able to enhance its strategic position through outsourcing

Risk evaluation of the groundwater pollution by nitrate-nitrogen leached from farmlands in a middle-sized agricultural watershed

Poster Sessio

Idiosyncratic deals in less competitive labor markets: testing career i-deals in the Greek context of high uncertainties

This study investigates the impact of pre-hiring (ex-ante) and after-hiring (ex-post) negotiation on organizational citizen behavior (OCB), through three serially connected relationships: (1) between the timing of negotiation and career i-deals (idiosyncratic deals), moderated by feelings of self-worth; (2) between career i-deals and OCB, mediated by psychological contract fulfillment, and employee organizational commitment; and (3) between employer and employee psychological contract fulfillment, mediated by employee organizational commitment. To do so, it utilizes the social exchange theory, and a sample of 1768 employees working within 162 private organizations in the current context of high economic and financial uncertainties in Greece. Using a comprehensive framework tested by structural equation multilevel modeling, the study conclusions imply that in the less-competitive labor market of Greece, (a) core self-evaluation (CSE), which reflect individual differences, do not moderate the relationship between timing of negotiation and career i-deals, but independently predicts career i-deals; (b) career i-deals influence psychological contract expressed in promises fulfillment (PF); employee organizational commitment constitutes the binding epicenter of the relationships between employer and employees PF and between career i-deals and OCB. Based on these findings, the study has several theoretical and practical implications for high uncertainty contexts

Development of butanol-tolerant Bacillus subtilis strain GRSW2-B1 as a potential bioproduction host

As alternative microbial hosts for butanol production with organic-solvent tolerant trait are in high demands, a butanol-tolerant bacterium, Bacillus subtilis GRSW2-B1, was thus isolated. Its tolerance covered a range of organic solvents at high concentration (5%v/v), with remarkable tolerance in particular to butanol and alcohol groups. It was susceptible for butanol acclimatization, which resulted in significant tolerance improvement. It has versatility for application in a variety of fermentation process because it has superior tolerance when cells were exposed to butanol either as high-density, late-exponential grown cells (up to 5%v/v) or under growing conditions (up to 2.25%v/v). Genetic transformation procedure was optimized, yielding the highest efficiency at 5.17 × 103 colony forming unit (μg DNA)-1. Gene expression could be effectively driven by several promoters with different levels, where as the highest expression was observed with a xylose promoter. The constructed vector was stably maintained in the transformants, in the presence or absence of butanol stress. Adverse effect of efflux-mediated tetracycline resistance determinant (TetL) to bacterial organic-solvent tolerance property was unexpectedly observed and thus discussed. Overall results indicate that B. subtilis GRSW2-B1 has potential to be engineered and further established as a genetic host for bioproduction of butanol.This work was the collaboration of Chulalongkorn University - Hiroshima University under the Asian Core Program (ACP) and financially supported by The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) (Bilateral Project). It was partly supported by the Thai Government Stimulus Package 2 (TKK2555) under the Project for Establishment of Comprehensive Center for Innovative Food, Health Products and Agriculture (PERFECTA)

Deuteron and antideuteron production in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV

The production of deuterons and antideuterons in the transverse momentum range 1.1 < p_T < 4.3 GeV/c at mid-rapidity in Au + Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV has been studied by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. A coalescence analysis comparing the deuteron and antideuteron spectra with those of protons and antiprotons, has been performed. The coalescence probability is equal for both deuterons and antideuterons and increases as a function of p_T, which is consistent with an expanding collision zone. Comparing (anti)proton yields p_bar/p = 0.73 +/- 0.01, with (anti)deuteron yields: d_bar/d = 0.47 +/- 0.03, we estimate that n_bar/n = 0.64 +/- 0.04.Comment: 326 authors, 6 pages text, 5 figures, 1 Table. Submitted to PRL. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Mid-Rapidity Direct-Photon Production in p+p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

A measurement of direct photons in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV is presented. A photon excess above background from pi^0 --> gamma+gamma, eta --> gamma+gamma, and other decays is observed in the transverse momentum range 5.5 < p_T < 7 GeV/c. The result is compared to a next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculation. Within errors, good agreement is found between the QCD calculation and the measured result.Comment: 330 authors, 7 pages text, RevTeX, 2 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Physical Review D. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Suppressed pi^0 Production at Large Transverse Momentum in Central Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV

Transverse momentum spectra of neutral pions in the range 1 < p_T < 10 GeV/c have been measured at mid-rapidity by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The pi^0 multiplicity in central reactions is significantly below the yields measured at the same sqrt(s_NN) in peripheral Au+Au and p+p reactions scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions. For the most central bin, the suppression factor is ~2.5 at p_T = 2 GeV/c and increases to ~4-5 at p_T ~= 4 GeV/c. At larger p_T, the suppression remains constant within errors. The deficit is already apparent in semi-peripheral reactions and increases smoothly with centrality.Comment: 326 authors, 6 pages text, RevTeX, 3 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to PRL. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Scaling properties of proton and anti-proton production in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au + Au collisions

We report on the yield of protons and anti-protons, as a function of centrality and transverse momentum, in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV measured at mid-rapidity by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. In central collisions at intermediate transverse momenta (1.5 < p_T < 4.5 GeV/c) a significant fraction of all produced particles are protons and anti-protons. They show a centrality-scaling behavior different from that of pions. The p-bar/pion and p/pion ratios are enhanced compared to peripheral Au+Au, p+p, and electron+positron collisions. This enhancement is limited to p_T < 5 GeV/c as deduced from the ratio of charged hadrons to pi^0 measured in the range 1.5 < p_T < 9 GeV/c.Comment: 325 authors, 6 pages text, 4 figures, RevTeX 4. Minor changes to text and figures to meet PRL length restrictions; no changes to figures; resubmitted to PRL. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

J/Psi Production in Au-Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

First results on charm quarkonia production in heavy ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) are presented. The yield of J/Psi's measured in the PHENIX experiment via electron-positron decay pairs at mid-rapidity for Au-Au reactions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV are analyzed as a function of collision centrality. For this analysis we have studied 49.3 million minimum bias Au-Au reactions. We present the J/Psi invariant yield dN/dy for peripheral and mid-central reactions. For the most central collisions where we observe no signal above background, we quote 90% confidence level upper limits. We compare these results with our J/Psi measurement from proton-proton reactions at the same energy. We find that our measurements are not consistent with models that predict strong enhancement relative to binary collision scaling.Comment: 325 authors, 11 pages text, 6 figures, 4 tables, RevTeX 4. Accepted for publication as a regular article in Physical Review C. This version has minor changes to respond to referee suggestions. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm