The relationship between employee benefit satisfaction and organizational commitment

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of individual characteristics, benefit satisfaction, and internal services received on employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Employees from a Las Vegas casino hotel were surveyed. A total of 201 usable questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 51 percent. The findings showed that benefit satisfaction and organizational commitment are positively related. Satisfaction with internal services was found to be significantly related to organizational commitment, and communication received was significantly related with benefit satisfaction. Only few of the sociodemographic variables were found to be significantly related to benefit satisfaction, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Based on the research findings practical implications for industry are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered

The Impact of Change on the Hong Kong Convention and Exposition Business

The primary objective of this paper was to look into the future of the Hong Kong Convention Center. The July 97 hand-over has generated many speculations regarding Hong Kong\u27s future as a business center and as a tourist destination. The newly expanded Convention Center in the city has hosted many conventions and exhibitions in the past but its future is still uncertain. A wide scope of opinions is cited, predicting various scenarios regarding the future of the city. Based on these opinions and on statistical figures provided by the Hong Kong Tourist Association an attempt to predict the city\u27s future was made

Las Vegas Locals as Gamblers and Hosts to Visiting Friends and Family: Characteristics and Gaming Behavior

Local gamblers are an important market segment for casino marketers providing a reliable source of revenue during slow periods. This paper presents selected gaming behavior of local residents in the Las Vegas area, linking socio-demographic characteristics with gaming behavior. In addition, this article examines the relationships of Las Vegas area locals and their visiting friends and family members in two aspects. First, we identified the influence local residents have on visiting friends and family in terms of recommendations made regarding gambling in general and specific gaming locations. Second, this article describes how visiting friends and family influence local residents in terms of gaming behavior and additional spending

Polychronicity, Decision-making and Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy of Venture Team Founders: An Exploratory Study

Purpose - This study explores the role of polychronic temporal orientation and decision-making decentralization on founders\u27 perceptions of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE). Design/methodology/approach - Longitudinal survey data were collected from 141 business founders in China. Findings - Findings suggest that decision-making decentralization is positively associated with founders\u27 ESE. In addition, a polychronic temporal orientation is positively related to ESE, and this relationship is mediated by decision-making decentralization. Originality/value - This study adds to existing knowledge on ESE and temporal related issues by presenting empirical evidence that explains how and why the temporal orientation context and the practice of decision-making decentralization can shape ESE perceptions among venture founders

Ultra-rare genetic variation in common epilepsies: a case-control sequencing study

BACKGROUND:Despite progress in understanding the genetics of rare epilepsies, the more common epilepsies have proven less amenable to traditional gene-discovery analyses. We aimed to assess the contribution of ultra-rare genetic variation to common epilepsies. METHODS:We did a case-control sequencing study with exome sequence data from unrelated individuals clinically evaluated for one of the two most common epilepsy syndromes: familial genetic generalised epilepsy, or familial or sporadic non-acquired focal epilepsy. Individuals of any age were recruited between Nov 26, 2007, and Aug 2, 2013, through the multicentre Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project and Epi4K collaborations, and samples were sequenced at the Institute for Genomic Medicine (New York, USA) between Feb 6, 2013, and Aug 18, 2015. To identify epilepsy risk signals, we tested all protein-coding genes for an excess of ultra-rare genetic variation among the cases, compared with control samples with no known epilepsy or epilepsy comorbidity sequenced through unrelated studies. FINDINGS:We separately compared the sequence data from 640 individuals with familial genetic generalised epilepsy and 525 individuals with familial non-acquired focal epilepsy to the same group of 3877 controls, and found significantly higher rates of ultra-rare deleterious variation in genes established as causative for dominant epilepsy disorders (familial genetic generalised epilepsy: odd ratio [OR] 2·3, 95% CI 1·7-3·2, p=9·1 × 10-8; familial non-acquired focal epilepsy 3·6, 2·7-4·9, p=1·1 × 10-17). Comparison of an additional cohort of 662 individuals with sporadic non-acquired focal epilepsy to controls did not identify study-wide significant signals. For the individuals with familial non-acquired focal epilepsy, we found that five known epilepsy genes ranked as the top five genes enriched for ultra-rare deleterious variation. After accounting for the control carrier rate, we estimate that these five genes contribute to the risk of epilepsy in approximately 8% of individuals with familial non-acquired focal epilepsy. Our analyses showed that no individual gene was significantly associated with familial genetic generalised epilepsy; however, known epilepsy genes had lower p values relative to the rest of the protein-coding genes (p=5·8 × 10-8) that were lower than expected from a random sampling of genes. INTERPRETATION:We identified excess ultra-rare variation in known epilepsy genes, which establishes a clear connection between the genetics of common and rare, severe epilepsies, and shows that the variants responsible for epilepsy risk are exceptionally rare in the general population. Our results suggest that the emerging paradigm of targeting of treatments to the genetic cause in rare devastating epilepsies might also extend to a proportion of common epilepsies. These findings might allow clinicians to broadly explain the cause of these syndromes to patients, and lay the foundation for possible precision treatments in the future. FUNDING:National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and Epilepsy Research UK

Bursting the bubble from the inside: Individual and environmental barriers to upward mobility among Mexican immigrants

The career progression of Hispanic employees has received limited attention in organizational and counseling psychology research and no studies examined the special circumstances relevant to Hispanic immigrants. Additional career-related research with Hispanic immigrants is therefore necessary, and has been called for by specialists in the field (Arbona, 1995; Brown, 2002; Lent & Worthington, 1999; Leong & Brown, 1995; Super, 1991). Studying career progression of this group would enhance our knowledge regarding the ways in which cultural values and the overall immigrant experiences influence their desire for and actual pursuit of upward mobility. My study examined the barriers and motivators to career progression among Hispanic immigrant workers in the Las Vegas hospitality industry. As this was an exploratory study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seventeen Mexican immigrant hotel employees. Findings identify two main groups of variables influencing career progression among Hispanic immigrants: Individual and environmental variables. Individual variables include human capital, self-concept, ethnic identity, cultural values and stress. Environmental variables include the local job market, the organizational culture and climate, and the characteristics of the job itself. This study proposes a model explaining career progression among Hispanic immigrants and offers some recommendations for human resources professional to increase upward mobility within this employee group

University students and their faculty: perceptions of entrepreneurial optimism, overconfidence and entrepreneurial intentions

While an entrepreneurial career requires some level of optimism and confidence, unfounded optimism and overconfidence can be detrimental to entrepreneurial success. By comparing student and faculty perceptual differences, we assess whether university students are overly optimistic regarding the outcomes they expect from an entrepreneurial career as well as overconfident in their perceptions of barriers to entrepreneurship. Findings suggest that, overall, students are more optimistic but not more confident than faculty. Also, students who are more optimistic and more confident than their faculty, also perceive themselves to be more entrepreneurial and have stronger entrepreneurial intentions than their peers

Entrepreneurial perceptions and intentions : The role of gender and culture

This paper examines how culture and gender shape entrepreneurial perceptions and intentions within Hofstede's cultural dimensions framework and gender role theory. We test whether gender differences exist in the way university students in three nations perceive barriers to entrepreneurship and whether gender has a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived barriers and entrepreneurial intentions across nations. Findings indicate significant gender differences in barrier perceptions. However, this gap is not consistent across cultures. Also, a moderating effect of gender on the relationship between barriers and entrepreneurial intentions is identified. Implications for research and practice are discussed. </jats:p