Engaging Today’s Students: Current Topics 2.0

In this session we share a new version of a Current Topics assignment geared toward millennial students’ preferences for structure and hands-on learning. Participants will try-out the assignment by reading a short article and answering the three assignment prompts: 1) What are the main points of the article? 2) What points are the most interesting and/or useful to you? 3) What course concepts are illustrated in the article? Connections to student learning outcomes are discussed as well as ways to adapt this assignment. Article citations, grading practices and student feedback are shared

Aging and Health: An Examination of Differences between Older Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal People

The Aboriginal population in Canada, much younger than the general population, has experienced a trend towards aging over the past decade. Using data from the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) and the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), this article examines differences in health status and the determinants of health and health care use between the 55-and-older Aboriginal population and non-Aboriginal population. The results show that the older Aboriginal population is unhealthier than the non-Aboriginal population across all age groups; differences in health status, however, appear to converge as age increases. Among those aged 55 to 64, 7 per cent of the Aboriginal population report three or more chronic conditions compared with 2 per cent of the non-Aboriginal population. Yet, among those aged 75 and older, 51 per cent of the Aboriginal population report three or more chronic conditions in comparison with 23 per cent of the non-Aboriginal population.Aboriginal people, health status, health care use

The Impact of Employee Engagement and a Positive Organizational Culture on an Individual’s Ability to Adapt to Organization Change

The purpose of this paper is to explore the connections between employee engagement, positive organizational psychology and an individual’s ability to adapt to ongoing organizational change. We review the literature on individual adaptability, positive organizational psychology, and employee engagement and propose a model that suggests that a positive work culture enhances employee engagement and in specific cases leads to increased adaptability. Suggestions for future research are provided with the intent to further the academic research in this area

Enhancing Team Learning Experiences in the Classroom

There are many different and effective ways to introduce teams and team learning into the management classroom. This paper discusses different ways we incorporated group and team learning in the classroom using a variety of activities. From our initial student survey, we developed a measure of teamwork and independent learning. Our findings indicate that when students perceive a fair work distribution in their teams, they are also more team oriented than students who perceive an unfair work distribution. Suggestions for enhancements to team learning, and future ideas for research are discussed

Survival of the fittest: An investigation of the relationship between stressful work environments, physical fitness, and employee well -being

This study analyzed the relationship between stressful work environments, physical fitness, and employee well-being, and proposed the “survival of the fittest” model. The “survival of the fittest” model was tested to determine whether physical fitness reduced the negative health outcomes of stressful work environments. Stressful work environments were framed through the job demands-control model (Karasek, 1979), and employee well-being was assessed through cardiovascular health and psychological well-being. Physical fitness was measured as cardiorespiratory endurance. Main effect and interaction effect models were tested using hierarchical regression and nonlinear structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses techniques. This study showed that employee well-being is negatively affected by current work trends. The results indicated that the interaction effect of high strain jobs (high job demands and low job control) negatively affected cardiovascular health, but not psychological well-being. Psychological well-being was negatively affected by high job demands, and low job control independently (main effects), whereas cardiovascular health was not negatively affected by these main effects. The results also indicated that fitness, when measured as a state, did not produce the hypothesized stress reducing effects, nor the expected improvements in cardiovascular health and psychological well-being. A discussion of these results includes an analysis of group differences, an evaluation of the fitness measure, and an examination of the sample population. This dissertation contributed to the occupational health and stress literature by offering conceptual and methodological improvements over past research. Specifically, I analyzed the job demands-control model through a focused measure of job control and a descriptive measure of job demands. Psychological well-being included the emotional exhaustion measure of burnout, and a measure of anxiety and depression not previously tested in this literature stream. Objective measures of cardiovascular health (blood pressure) and physical fitness (step test) were obtained, and data were gathered from a cross-sectional sample of 100 working adults. Furthermore, the application of nonlinear SEM techniques allowed for the simultaneous examination of physiological and psychological health outcomes, which provided a holistic view of the work stress and employee well-being relationship not previously found in this literature

The Integrative Nature of Stress, Performance, and Wellness

Guest editor\u27s introduction to a special issue. In particular, this special issue of the Journal of Management Education targets the ways we educate students about the interconnections among stress, performance, and wellness

Alleviating the Effects of Chronic Disease in the Workplace: Opportunities for Intentional Change Theory

Chronic disease is a national problem that has reached epidemic proportions with serious implications for the workplace. Essentially, the same set of individual health behavior change models have been applied to the treatment of chronic disease despite their inconsistent effectiveness. We examine the potential of Intentional Change Theory (ICT) to improve chronic disease outcomes and thereby contribute a fresh perspective on health behavior change. We review ICT and compare it with five existing theories of individual health behavior change. Our contribution is to articulate the value that ICT can bring to alleviating the effects of chronic disease in the workplace

Employee Engagement, Positive Organizational Culture and Individual Adaptability

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the connections between employee engagement, positive organizational psychology and an individual’s ability to adapt to ongoing organizational change. Design/methodology/approach – The literature on individual adaptability, positive organizational psychology and employee engagement is reviewed. A model that suggests that a positive work culture enhances employee engagement and in specific cases leads to increased adaptability is developed. Findings – While organizational engagement will have a positive effect on the individual’s ability to adapt to changes, job engagement will have the opposite effect, uncovering potential obstacles to change management in organizations. Research limitations/implications – Suggestions for future research are provided with the intent to further academic research in this area. This model can serve as a starting point for future research design and can be tested in organizations undergoing various changes. Practical implications – A positive culture fosters both job and organizational engagement within an organization. Managers can understand how to cultivate a positive, engaged environment for employees while understanding how certain job changes might have both positive and negative effects on an individual’s ability to adapt. Originality/value – A model for identifying relationships between positive organizational behaviors, two types of employee engagement (organizational engagement and job engagement) and an individual’s ability to adapt to change is helpful to researchers and practitioners alik