In Search of the Self at Work: Young Adults’ Experience of a Dual Identity Organization

Purpose: Multiple forces that shape the identities of adolescents and young adults also influence their subsequent career choices. Early work experiences are key among these forces. Recognizing this, youth service programs have emerged worldwide with the hope of shaping participants' future trajectories through boosting future engagement in civically oriented activities and work. Despite these goals, past research on these programs' impact has yielded mixed outcomes. Our goal is to understand why this might be the case. Design/Methodology/Approach: We rely on interview, archival, and longitudinal survey data to examine young adults' experiences of a European youth service program. Findings: A core feature of youth service programs, namely their dual identity of helping others (i.e., service beneficiaries) and helping oneself (i.e., participants), might partly explain the mixed outcomes. We find that participants focus on one of the organization's identities largely to the exclusion of the other, creating a dynamic in which their interactions with members who focus on the other identity create challenges and dominate their program experience, to the detriment of a focus on the organization and its goals. This suggests that a previously overlooked feature of youth service programs (their dual identity) might prove both a blessing for attracting many diverse members and a curse for achieving desired outcomes. Originality/Value: More broadly, our results suggest that dual identity organizations might attract members focused on a select identity but fail to imbue them with a blended identity; thus, limiting the extent to which such organizations can truly "re-direct" future career choices

Large voltage-tunable spin valve based on a double quantum dot

We study the spin-dependent transport properties of a spin valve based on a double quantum dot. Each quantum dot is assumed to be strongly coupled to its own ferromagnetic lead, while the coupling between the dots is relatively weak. The current flowing through the system is determined within the perturbation theory in the hopping between the dots, whereas the spectrum of a quantum dot-ferromagnetic lead subsystem is determined by means of the numerical renormalization group method. The spin-dependent charge fluctuations between ferromagnets and quantum dots generate an effective exchange field, which splits the double dot levels. Such field can be controlled, separately for each quantum dot, by the gate voltages or by changing the magnetic configuration of external leads. We demonstrate that the considered double quantum dot spin valve setup exhibits enhanced magnetoresistive properties, including both normal and inverse tunnel magnetoresistance. We also show that this system allows for the generation of highly spin-polarized currents, which can be controlled by purely electrical means. The considered double quantum dot with ferromagnetic contacts can thus serve as an efficient voltage-tunable spin valve characterized by high output parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Zest and work

Zest is a positive trait reflecting a person's approach to life with anticipation, energy, and excitement. In the present study, 9803 currently employed adult respondents to an Internet site completed measures of dispositional zest, orientation to work as a calling, and satisfaction with work and life in general. Across all occupations, zest predicted the stance that work was a calling ( r  = .39), as well as work satisfaction ( r  = .46) and general life satisfaction ( r  = .53). Zest deserves further attention from organizational scholars, especially how it can be encouraged in the workplace. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61871/1/584_ftp.pd

Character strengths in organizations

Character refers to qualities within individuals that lead them to desire and to pursue the good. We propose that strengths of character are a neglected but critically important resource for organizations. Character matters because it leads people to do the right thing, and the right thing can be productive and profitable. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55841/1/398_ftp.pd

Managerial Work in a Practice-Embodying Institution - The role of calling, the virtue of constancy

What can be learned from a small scale study of managerial work in a highly marginal and under-researched working community? This paper uses the ‘goods-virtues-practices-institutions’ framework to examine the managerial work of owner-directors of traditional circuses. Inspired by MacIntyre’s arguments for the necessity of a narrative understanding of the virtues, interviews explored how British and Irish circus directors accounted for their working lives. A purposive sample was used to select subjects who had owned and managed traditional touring circuses for at least 15 years, a period in which the economic and reputational fortunes of traditional circuses have suffered badly. This sample enabled the research to examine the self-understanding of people who had, at least on the face of it, exhibited the virtue of constancy. The research contributes to our understanding of the role of the virtues in organizations by presenting evidence of an intimate relationship between the virtue of constancy and a ‘calling’ work orientation. This enhances our understanding of the virtues that are required if management is exercised as a domain-related practice

Contractual obligations analysis for construction waste management in Canada

Construction industry creates a massive amount of waste, which typically ends up in landfills. Canadian construction industry represents 30% of the total municipal solid waste deposited in landfills. Construction and demolition (C&D) waste has created negative socioeconomic and environmental impacts including contaminating ground water, emitting greenhouse gases, and adding more waste to scarce landfills. Literature is cited rework/waste generation due to ambiguity/errors in construction contract documents. Exculpatory clauses in contract documents are included in contractual agreements to prevent contractor claims, which often cause rework. After an extensive contract documents review, these clauses were categorized in to eight major areas. This paper (1) analyses expert opinions on pre-identified contractual clauses; and (2) introduces recommendations to minimize rework and waste in construction projects. It was found that the clauses related to quality, workmanship, and field quality control/inspection have the most potential to generate construction waste

Knowing where you stand: Physical isolation, perceived respect, and organizational identification among virtual employees

T his research investigates the relationship between virtual employees' degree of physical isolation and their perceived respect in the organization. Respect is an identity-based status perception that reflects the extent to which one is included and valued as a member of the organization. We hypothesize that the degree of physical isolation is negatively associated with virtual employees' perceived respect and that this relationship explains the lower organizational identification among more physically isolated virtual employees. In two field studies using survey methods, we find that perceived respect is negatively associated with the degree of physical isolation, and respect mediates the relationship between physical isolation and organizational identification. These effects hold for shorter-and longer-tenured employees alike. Our research contributes to the virtual work literature by drawing attention to physical isolation and the important but neglected role of status perceptions in shaping virtual employees' organizational identification. We also contribute to the literature on perceived respect by demonstrating how respect is affected by the physical context of work

A concept analysis of ‘Meaning in work’ and its implications for nursing

AimTo report an analysis of the concept of ‘meaning in work’.BackgroundAssociated with initiatives to improve the quality of working life and the emerging movement of positive organizations, ‘meaning in work’ has been studied as a positive individual‐level state. ‘Meaning in work’ has potential benefits that will improve the nursing workforce if this concept is embraced in nursing. However, the concept is not clearly defined because it has been approached from diverse theoretical perspectives and used interchangeably with analogous terms.DesignA concept analysis.Data sourcesThree key terms (using ‘work’, ‘meaning’ or ‘meaningful’, ‘meaning of work’, ‘logotherapy’) were searched in the CINAHL, PsycINFO, Business Source Complete and ABI/INFORM Global online databases from January 1940–March 2015. Among 346 articles retrieved, 28 studies were included for this concept analysis.MethodsThe procedure of concept analysis developed by Walker and Avant (2011) was used.ResultsFour critical attributes are identified: (1) experienced positive emotion at work; (2) meaning from work itself; (3) meaningful purpose and goals of work; and (4) work as a part of life that contributes towards meaningful existence. The identified antecedent of ‘meaning in work’ was a cognitive shift and the identified consequences were positive personal experience and positive impact on peers and organizations.ConclusionThis article provides a clear definition of ‘meaning in work’. The resulting coherent definition will facilitate the use of ‘meaning in work’ in nursing research.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113683/1/jan12695.pd

The role of emotional intelligence training in developing meaningfulness at work

To date, there remains a significant gap in the western management literature in understanding how individuals proactively shape their work environments to create meaningfulness. Equally, little is known about how training and development supports this process. This article shows how emotional intelligence (EI) training in the UK nurtures meaningfulness through the development of EI skills and aptitudes. The article explores how EI skills are then used at work to develop tasks, roles and relationships of worth and value. Data is collected from participant observations and interviews with trainers and managers attending three externally provided, ‘popular’ EI training courses. Interpreting the data through Lips-Wiersma and Morris’s (2009; 2011) model of meaningful work enables a clear articulation of managers’ independent capacity to shape their work environments to create four, interconnected sources of meaningfulness: inner development, expressing one’s full potential, unity with others and serving others. The findings also show the tension between the ‘inspiration’ and ‘reality’ of fulfilling these four existential needs at work through EI skills and aptitudes. Findings also exemplify how this is a constant process of search, balance and struggle which sometimes pivots work against life values and demands. Practically, the study demonstrates the importance of training for meaning making at work and offers recommendations for HRD practitioners. Implications for transferring innovative western management practices such as EI and meaningfulness/engagement processes across national contexts are discussed. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence that sources of meaningfulness are a core ingredient of EI training when popular EI models are used. It points towards future research on meaningfulness training and transfer to new contrasting regional contexts such as the middle east