A First Look at the First 30 Years of the First Division: The Management History Division

This book has two broad purposes. First, it seeks to determine whether or not there is a “universal” management model through an examination of circumstance in a number of different nations and industries. Second, it brings to a wider audience some of the leading research in the field of management history. In doing so, it highlights the importance of the Management History Division of the Academy of Management in fostering and disseminating new understandings of management and its development. The book indicates that, while there has been much variance in managerial practices across time and space, we can nevertheless speak of a “universal” managerial model. Emerging in association with Britain\u27s Industrial Revolution, the spread of competitive pressures progressively demanded that enterprises respond in broadly common ways if they were to survive. These broad commonalities can be seen in the diverse industries that this book considers – the beef industry of the Northern Plains of the United States in the nineteenth century, the trading activities of the Dutch East India Company, the United States and Australian railroads, and the manufacturing methods of the Ford Motor Company during the early twentieth century. In each of these circumstances, industries and firms had to constantly adapt to changes in both capital and consumer markets. This is evident even in the case of the Ford Motor Company which, as James Wilson\u27s chapter indicates, was in its early days “flexible” rather than Fordist, constantly adjusting production and inventories in accordance with consumer demand. Such responses to global markets is also found in the realms of ideas and education, where the book\u27s study of trends in business education highlights the growing dominance of commercial factors and of intellectual concepts stemming from the United States. The power of management commonalities is also found in the book\u27s study of Australia and the United States.https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hcbe_facbooks/1033/thumbnail.jp

A Long-Term Study of Sex Differences in Attitudes towards Women’s Roles in the Military and in Combat

This study explored changes in attitudes towards women’s roles in society, particularly the military, from 1993 to 2004 using the Spence, Helmreich and Stapp (1973) Attitudes towards Women scale. The researchers surveyed 500 respondents in 1993 and 2,560 between 2002 and 2004, finding that, while both women and men became more equalitarian, women became even more equalitarian. Although both men and women believe that women belong in the military, female respondents felt that women would be just as good as men in combat while men felt that women should not be in combat occupations. The study concludes that traditional stereotypes have changed, but some stereotypes continue to exist, and these stereotypes are still marginalizing the value of women in the military

The Origins of Captive Pricing: Electric Lamp Renewal Systems

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of electric lamp renewal systems, an early, successful program to encourage the adoption of new technology, electric lighting. Design/methodology/approach – Much material for the research comes from a variety of archival sources and publications of the early part of the twentieth century. Findings – The free lamp renewal system was brilliant and effective: its high level of customer service and human contact dispelled fear raised by the new energy source, increasing the acceptance and use of electric lighting and thereby electricity. Lighting, in the absence of electrical appliances, was one of the few users of electricity. Thus, the electric companies created a marketing strategy that encouraged adoption of the new technology. Research limitations/implications – We examined the electric lighting industry at the turn of the twentieth century. Other examples of technology adoption could generalize our findings. Practical implications – Our research suggests that supportive programs, which are high in customer contact and customized service, can aid in the adoption of new technology and unfamiliar products. By encouraging the use of such free or cheap products, customers are induced to higher usage of related products that increase the revenue stream to the provider. Originality/value – The lamp renewal system is forgotten today, yet was a crucial factor in winning consumer acceptance of electric lighting and an early example of how companies can encourage adoption of new technology. Although the concept of uniformed men in trucks coming to customer homes once a month to clean and replace light bulbs is quaint – it worked

Team Performance Study: Determining the Factors that Influence High Performance in Teams

The purpose of this paper is to describe a study, in the initial stages, which will attempt to determine the factors that differentiate high performance work teams from teams whose performance is good, but not exceptional. The teams in the study are in the U. S. supplier network of a large global automotive manufacturer. The researchers will use surveys, interviews, and observations to test models that, based on the literature, suggest factors that influence team performance, including innovation as a measure of performance. Multiple perspectives will be employed, including: the strategic lens (structure/ambidexterity), the temporal lens (entrainment) and the organization behavior lens (mental models and ambidexterity). In Phase 1, the research team will visit several supplier plants to determine the factors to be examined. In Phase 2, the researchers will conduct in-depth studies in some workplaces followed by tests of findings in different workplace environments. The goal of our study of work teams is not only to advance the literature of team performance, but also to provide important implications to managers of all team-based organizations

The Impact Of Media Choice And Social Capital On Quality Improvement

In this paper, we analyze the differences between product and process quality improvement and suggest that the effectiveness of each type of quality improvement is facilitated by distinctive organizational contexts. Specifically, the level of organizational social capital and the richness of communication media are significant determinants of a successful quality improvement approach. Moreover, certain combinations of social capital and media may best fit with either product or process quality improvement. We discuss the possibility of constructing an organizational context that facilitates both types of quality improvement and call for future research to investigate this issue

C. Bertrand Thompson and Management Consulting in Europe

This paper aims to highlight myriad accomplishments of C. Bertrand Thompson, who is perhaps most well known as a scientific-management bibliographer and a Taylor disciple, in the belief that his contributions as a pioneer management theorist and consultant in Europe deserve to be more widely known and more deeply appreciated

Preventing And Detecting Plagiarism In The Written Work Of College Students

Plagiarism abounds on American college campuses.  This paper first examines reasons that college students cheat, using both the perspective of student respondents and the observations of the faculty authors.  Next, the paper examines the two strategies which can be taken to combat student plagiarism: prevention and detection.  Specific strategies are offered for each approach.