Improving internal service: identifying the roles of employee proficiency, adaptivity and proactivity

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the roles of employee proficiency, adaptivity and proactivity in predicting different aspects of internal service. Design/methodology/approach: Managers evaluated 142 professional employees on proficiency, adaptivity and proactivity and about six weeks later 2–3 internal customers evaluated each of the employees on dimensions of internal service, namely reliability (i.e. performing dependably and accurately), assurance (i.e. knowledge, courtesy, and the ability to inspire trust and confidence), responsiveness (i.e. willingness to help customers and provide prompt service) and empathy (i.e. caring and providing individualized attention). Findings: Employee proficiency and proactivity were the main predictors of delivering reliable services. Employee proficiency was the main predictor for creating a sense of assurance. Employee adaptivity was the main predictor of being viewed as responsive. Employee proactivity was the main predictor for establishing a sense of empathy. Practical implications: In a given situation, some aspects of internal service will be more important than others. The results will enable organizations to improve internal service in a more effective and efficient manner by developing interventions that are targeted at the specific dimension of interest. Originality/value: The authors identified the types of employee behaviors that are likely to be most effective in impacting different aspects of internal service

Knowledge convergence in collaborative learning

In collaborative learning the question has been raised as to how learners in small groups influence one another and converge or diverge with respect to knowledge. Knowledge convergence can be conceptualised as knowledge equivalence and as shared knowledge prior to, during, and subsequent to collaborative learning. Knowledge equivalence refers to learners becoming more similar to their learning partners with regard to the extent of their individual knowledge. Shared knowledge means that learners have knowledge on the very same concepts as their learning partners. In this article, we provide measures for assessing both, knowledge equivalence and shared knowledge

Barriers to Identifying Trafficked Youth in the Vermont Healthcare Setting

Introduction. Human trafficking affects victims’ physical and psychological health. This study aimed to identify the barriers to access, disclosure, and identification in a healthcare setting for potential trafficked youth in Vermont.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1190/thumbnail.jp

A multifactorial system for equitable selection of cadaver kidney recipients

During 1986, a total of 270 cadaver renal transplantations were performed at the University of Pittsburgh. Kidneys were allocated by a point system that awarded points to recipients for waiting time, antigen matching, antibody analyses, medical urgency, and logistic practicality. Kidneys were given to patients with the highest point totals in 98% of cases. To our knowledge, this is the first such multifactorial system for cadaver kidney allocation. Possibly it may be modified for extrarenal organs

High Commitment Work System and Innovative Work Behavior: The Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing

In this modern and competitive era, organizations for their endurance and success rely on the innovative ideas. For today’s managers it becomes imperative to look for those ways and means through which they could innovate and this research is very much highlighting the said aspect. This study empirically examines and explores the impact of high commitment work system on innovative work behavior and addresses the role of knowledge sharing as a mediator. Basically, it provides a mechanism through which high commitment work system fosters innovative work behavior in telecommunication sector companies of Pakistan. Using the findings of this research, telecommunication companies, particularly mobile network companies can transform and bring novelty in their services to proliferate in a competitive market. All the established relationships are theoretically explained, empirically tested and supported through literature review. Results revealed that all three variables of the study exhibit positive relationship. All four established hypotheses are accepted and the relationship between high commitment work system and innovative work behavior partially mediated by knowledge sharing behavior

An empirical cognitive model of the development of shared understanding of requirements

It is well documented that customers and software development teams need to share and refine understanding of the requirements throughout the software development lifecycle. The development of this shared understand- ing is complex and error-prone however. Techniques and tools to support the development of a shared understanding of requirements (SUR) should be based on a clear conceptualization of the phenomenon, with a basis on relevant theory and analysis of observed practice. This study contributes to this with a detailed conceptualization of SUR development as sequence of group-level state transi- tions based on specializing the Team Mental Model construct. Furthermore it proposes a novel group-level cognitive model as the main result of an analysis of data collected from the observation of an Agile software development team over a period of several months. The initial high-level application of the model shows it has promise for providing new insights into supporting SUR development

Negotiation in strategy making teams : group support systems and the process of cognitive change

This paper reports on the use of a Group Support System (GSS) to explore at a micro level some of the processes manifested when a group is negotiating strategy-processes of social and psychological negotiation. It is based on data from a series of interventions with senior management teams of three operating companies comprising a multi-national organization, and with a joint meeting subsequently involving all of the previous participants. The meetings were concerned with negotiating a new strategy for the global organization. The research involved the analysis of detailed time series data logs that exist as a result of using a GSS that is a reflection of cognitive theory

Differences that matter: hiring modes and demographic (dis)similarity in executive selection

Scholars, practitioners, and policymakers have long acknowledged the importance of understanding the antecedents of top management team (TMT) composition. Yet, research on how and why firms select executives who are demographically dissimilar to incumbent TMT members remains limited. We take a step toward answering these questions by employing a sample of 575 individual-level executive appointments at 170 large European firms between 2005 and 2009. Drawing on the person-group fit perspective, we argue that firms are more likely to appoint socio-demographically dissimilar executives through internal promotion – while external hires are more likely to socio-demographically resemble incumbent top managers. Our results support the hypothesized relationship. They also show that this relationship is influenced by the level of administrative complexity and environmental uncertainty facing the firm. Overall, our theory and results enhance our understanding of ‘why top management teams are composed the way they are’, by highlighting the impact of internal and external hiring modes in the selection of demographically (dis)similar executives