Do They See Eye to Eye? Management and Employee Perspectives of High-Performance Work Systems and Influence Processes on Service Quality.

Extant research on high-performance work systems (HPWSs) has primarily examined the effects of HPWSs on establishment or firm-level performance from a management perspective in manufacturing settings. The current study extends this literature by differentiating management and employee perspectives of HPWSs and examining how the two perspectives relate to employee individual performance in the service context. Data collected in three phases from multiple sources involving 292 managers, 830 employees, and 1,772 customers of 91 bank branches revealed significant differences between management and employee perspectives of HPWSs. There were also significant differences in employee perspectives of HPWSs among employees of different employment statuses and among employees of the same status. Further, employee perspective of HPWSs was positively related to individual general service performance through the mediation of employee human capital and perceived organizational support and was positively related to individual knowledge-intensive service performance through the mediation of employee human capital and psychological empowerment. At the same time, management perspective of HPWSs was related to employee human capital and both types of service performance. Finally, a branch's overall knowledge-intensive service performance was positively associated with customer overall satisfaction with the branch's service. Keywords: strategic human resource management, high-performance work systems for service quality, human capital and motivation, employee performance, customer satisfaction A large body of strategic human resource management (HRM) research suggests that the use of high-performance work systems (HPWSs), or systems of human resource (HR) practices designed to enhance employees' competencies, motivation, and performance, is associated with lower employee turnover rates (e.g., Huselid, 1995), higher labor productivity The primary objective of this study was to address these issues. First, given that there may be a disconnection between what managers and companies say they do as formal practices of the HPWS and what individual employees actually experience, in this study we examined employee perspective with the HPWS in addition to the management perspective. Second, we integrated macro-and micro-level HRM research to examine the influence of 371 HPWS on individual performance and to understand the psychological processes through which the influence materializes. Third, we examined whether unit-level employee overall service performance translates into an important performance metric for service organizations, specifically, customer satisfaction. In what follows, we first integrate strategic HRM and the service management literature to discuss what an HPWS entails in the service context and then discuss the importance of understanding the system from the employees' perspective as well as the psychological processes through which such a system operates to influence individual employees' service performance and, ultimately, customer satisfaction. High-Performance Work System for Service Quality As noted by management theorists, there are two basic strategies for service organizations. The first is to focus on minimizing costs and use a mass production approach in accordance with scientific Taylorism The nature of services, including simultaneity of service production and consumption, intangibility of service processes and outcomes, and customer involvement in service production 1 This conceptualization of the HPWS for service quality captures the foundation HRM issues deemed important for service delivery i

Ipragliflozin lowers small, dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aims: This preliminary randomized, parallel-group comparative study evaluated the efficacy of ipragliflozin for reduction of small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sd LDL-C) levels in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Sixty-two patients with T2DM (age, 56 ± 8 years; hemoglobin A1c levels, 8.1 ± 0.9%; BMI, 27.5 ± 3.3 kg/m2) were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive ipragliflozin (50 mg/day) (treatment group; n = 40) or continued treatment (control group; n = 22) for 12 weeks. The primary endpoints were changes in sd LDL-C levels detected using the LipoPhor AS® system; the secondary endpoints included changes in the sd LDL-C/large buoyant LDL-C (lb LDL-C) ratio, a surrogate marker for LDL particle size, and percent changes in routine lipid parameters. Results: The treatment group exhibited a statistically significant reduction from baseline for LDL-C levels (−0.37 mg/dL vs. 14.4 mg/dL, p = 0.038), sd LDL-C levels (−1.28 mg/dL vs. 2.81 mg/dL, p = 0.012), and sd LDL-C/lb LDL-C ratio (−3.20% vs. 4.58%, p = 0.040) compared with the control group. Multiple regression analysis among all subjects revealed change in TG levels (p = 0.011) and LDL-C levels (p = 0.024) as well as change in body weight (p = 0.006) as independent factors contributing to the reduction in sd LDL-C. Conclusions: Ipragliflozin may have a potential for lowering sd LDL-C levels associated with increasing LDL particle size in Japanese patients with T2DM

Simulating Customer-to-Customer Interaction In a B2B Financial Service Business By Empirical Agent-Based Modeling

Service research has emphasized triad relationships between a firm, employees and customers. To coordinate these stakeholders effectively, it is highly important to understand what service activities are beneficial to all or some of these stakeholders. Yet, the recent increase in C2C interaction may make the problem more complex. This study proposes a methodology combining statistical techniques and agent-based modeling, which makes it possible to assess the joint impact of each service value and C2C interaction on the payoffs

Prognostic factors for the late onset Pompe disease with enzyme replacement therapy: From our experience of 4 cases including an autopsy case

We report 4 cases of late onset glycogen storage disease type II (GSD II) or Pompe disease (OMIM #232300), under. enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with recombinant human acid alpha glucosidase (rh-GM, OMIM *606800). in these 4 cases, we focused on the case of a 28-years-old man, whose condition at the ERT starting was the worst and resulted in poor prognosis. the autopsy was done under his family's permission, and revealed severe accumulation of glycogen in his muscle, especially diaphragm or iliopsoas, and pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) which resulted in severe pulmonary hypertension (PH). This is the first report of PVOD as the cause of PH in Pompe disease. We studied this case comparing to another 3 cases of late onset Pompe disease under the same course of ERT in our hospital, and the average data of the group of late onset Pompe disease with severe pulmonary insufficiency receiving ERT, supposed that low score of the body mass index (BMI) on the baseline, the presence of specific genotype (p.R600C), and signs of pulmonary dysfunction suggesting PH (tachypnea, ultrasound cardiography data) were factors that influenced the prognosis. for a better prognosis in the late onset Pompe disease, an early diagnosis for the early start of ERT before the onset of respiratory failure should be important, and the deliberate management and care should be needed even after the ERT start, especially for severe cases including pulmonary dysfunction. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in JapanJikei Univ, Dept Gene Therapy, Inst DNA Med,Sch Med, Minato Ku, Tokyo, JapanJikei Univ, Sch Med, Dept Pediat, Minato Ku, Tokyo, JapanJikei Univ, Sch Med, Dept Genet Dis & Genome Sci, Minato Ku, Tokyo, JapanTokyo Womens Med Univ, Dept Pediat, Shinjuku Ku, Tokyo, JapanUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Ctr Referencia Erros Inatos Metab, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Ctr Referencia Erros Inatos Metab, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc