High-performance work systems and the instrumental employee

Employee instrumentalism, which has been defined as the belief that work is primarily a means to non-work ends rather than a central life interest, was investigated as a potential negative antithesis to employee job involvement, organisational commitment, trust in managers, and job satisfaction. Drawing on data from a representative national population survey, instrumentalism was found to be negatively related to commitment and involvement, but independent of the degree to which employees trust their managers and find satisfaction in their jobs. Furthermore, instrumentalism was found to be independent of managerial practices encompassed under the high-performance work systems (HPWS) rubric, suggesting it to be a stable socialised state that employees bring to their jobs rather than a response to the work environment. Practical implications are discussed

Intrinsic, extrinsic or total rewards

No abstract

A Putative Transcription Factor MYT1 Is Required for Female Fertility in the Ascomycete Gibberella zeae

Gibberella zeae is an important pathogen of major cereal crops. The fungus produces ascospores that forcibly discharge from mature fruiting bodies, which serve as the primary inocula for disease epidemics. In this study, we characterized an insertional mutant Z39P105 with a defect in sexual development and identified a gene encoding a putative transcription factor designated as MYT1. This gene contains a Myb DNA-binding domain and is conserved in the subphylum Pezizomycotina of Ascomycota. The MYT1 protein fused with green fluorescence protein localized in nuclei, which supports its role as a transcriptional regulator. The MYT1 deletion mutant showed similar phenotypes to the wild-type strain in vegetative growth, conidia production and germination, virulence, and mycotoxin production, but had defect in female fertility. A mutant overexpressing MYT1 showed earlier germination, faster mycelia growth, and reduced mycotoxin production compared to the wild-type strain, suggesting that improper MYT1 expression affects the expression of genes involved in the cell cycle and secondary metabolite production. This study is the first to characterize a transcription factor containing a Myb DNA-binding domain that is specific to sexual development in G. zeae

Large class teaching

Discussion Outline Attendance Traditional lectures (“passive”) vs interactive (“engaging”, “active”) approaches (e.g., case & problem methods) Delivery Modalities – 1/2/3 hour lectures? Large lecture + small class tutorials/labs/practicums? Blended? Teaching skills (analysis, synthesis, critique, evaluation) vs delivering content in large classes Planning TA

High-performance work systems and the instrumental employee

Employee instrumentalism, which has been defined as the belief that work is primarily a means to non-work ends rather than a central life interest, was investigated as a potential negative antithesis to employee job involvement, organisational commitment, trust in managers, and job satisfaction. Drawing on data from a representative national population survey, instrumentalism was found to be negatively related to commitment and involvement, but independent of the degree to which employees trust their managers and find satisfaction in their jobs. Furthermore, instrumentalism was found to be independent of managerial practices encompassed under the high-performance work systems (HPWS) rubric, suggesting it to be a stable socialised state that employees bring to their jobs rather than a response to the work environment. Practical implications are discussed

Intrinsic, extrinsic or total rewards

No abstract