bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Project‐based learning in organizations: towards a methodology for learning in groups
Authors: Poell Rob F. , Van der Krogt Ferd J.
Published: August 2003

This article introduces a methodology for employees in organizations to set up and carry out their own group learning projects. It is argued that employees can use project‐based learning to make their everyday learning more systematic at times, without necessarily formalizing it. The article emphasizes the specific characteristics that distinguish learning projects from other projects: a focus on the learner rather than the leader, on execution rather than planning, on continuation rather than output, on diversity rather than optimal‐solution thinking. Three phases in the creation of a learning project are described: orientation, learning and optimizing, and continuation. Four ideal types of learning project are distinguished: a liberal‐contractual, vertical‐regulated, horizontal‐organic, and external‐collegiate type. The various phases and types can be used by employees (plus managers and educators) to create learning projects that fit their specific work situation.
Corporate university developments in the UK SME sector
Authors: Prince Christopher , Allison Séamus
Published: August 2003

This article surveys the status and potential of three small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in relation to the concept of the corporate university. It examines the dynamic context for their current training and development activities and their individual similarities and differences in emphasis and priorities. The study involves the use of taxonomies and model structures to articulate current status and to give pointers to further potential for corporate university or corporate academy development.
The discipline and ritual of forecasting: Greenleaf’s version
Authors: Buchen Irving H.
Published: August 2003

Although Robert K. Greenleaf is primarily known as the father of the empowerment movement and the advocate for servant leadership, he also had a strong and abiding interest in the anticipatory leader. Indeed, throughout his essays he developed a coherent and rigorous discipline of forecasting which involved three stages.
A quiet revolution: opportunities for local futures in the UK
Authors: Saunders Jamie
Published: August 2003

Central Government in the UK has opened the door to futures work at a local level through the modernisation programme for local government. It has created conditions for local governance which are strategic and futures‐orientated. This raises challenges and opportunities for developing expert and participative futures research to inform local thinking, decision making and action. It also opens the institutions, structures and processes at a local level to the inherently uncomfortable and destabilising thoughts of what the future may hold within an interconnected and turbulent world. This work appears to be a quiet revolution in the making, creating major opportunities for foresight, futures research and anticipatory management at a local level and for developing processes that focus civic attention on a regular basis on long‐term challenges and implications for personal, corporate and political action.
Using futures studies to design tomorrow’s products: a case study
Authors: Saul Peter
Published: August 2003

The challenge companies face in developing innovative and profitable products and services that will be in demand in the future can be facilitated by futures studies techniques. This article presents a case study where an organization in the general insurance industry used a combination of futures studies techniques (including scenario development, causal layered analysis and backcasting) to develop over 40 new product concepts for evaluation by their strategic product development team. Some of the product concepts were considered by the client organization to be potentially revolutionary in nature.
Asia’s financial futures
Authors: Lin Jyh‐Hong
Published: August 2003

In spite of strong economic recovery since 2000, the worst of the financial crisis in Asia may not be over. This article uses a predictive‐cultural‐critical framework to consider possible futures for economic development in the region. In the predictive dimension, the economic outlook for Asia looks pessimistic. In the cultural dimension, we give a negative expression to Asian appreciation and tolerance. In the critical dimension, we indicate an inconsistency between belief and action in Asia. However, a brighter future for Asia can be created if economic integration leads to political disintegration associated with market mechanisms and if the economic integration separates itself from Asian values.
Development policies in the EU and technology foresight: an experiment in Portugal
Authors: Valadares Tavares L.
Published: August 2003

A national technology foresight project was developed in Portugal in 1999 and 2000 (ET2000) with the major objective to understand and to boost the contribution of engineering and technology (E&T), to improve the competitiveness of Portuguese firms. This project was based on multiple networks promoting debate and interchange of perspectives between policy makers, administration, business and university experts. The work carried out was oriented to support the design and the implementation of policies to develop Portugal as a knowledge‐economy using E&T as a main comparative advantage achieving higher levels of internationalization, competitiveness and sustainability. Major features of ET2000 as well as its contribution to policy making are presented in this paper.
The future of the professions: are they up for it?
Authors: Gold Jeff , Rodgers Helen , Smith Vikki
Published: August 2003

Professional work is facing significant forces for change which, as suggested by futurists, threaten the dominance of professionals in our lives. The paper examines the extent to which professional associations in the UK are responding to changes and preparing their members for the future. The nature of professional power and status is explored before an analysis of findings is presented. It is argued that while many professional associations have begun discussions about their plans for the future, a more purposeful and strategic approach is required, based on a re‐view of their status as learned societies.
Is the ageing population the problem it is made out to be?
Authors: Shaw Frank
Published: August 2003

It is said that the ageing population in developed countries will cause state pension systems to collapse, cripple national health services and place unacceptable burdens on the state in terms of social benefits. This article challenges several prevalent myths about population ageing and repudiates the idea that ageing is a major economic and social burden. While it is indisputable that all advanced industrialised societies are ageing, this social fact has become a kind of mantra for opponents of the welfare state and for a collection of alarmists.
Future international environmental security issues and potential military requirements
Authors: Glenn Jerome C. , Gordon Theodore J.
Published: August 2003

This article reports on an international assessment to identify and discuss environmental issues that may affect the US Army’s transformation efforts. Many factors, such as new kinds of weapons, increasing demands on natural resources, urbanization and globalization, are making the planning of environmental viability for life support more important in the future. The article highlights eight environmental security developments and potential military requirements to address them.
The Internet, knowledge and the academy
Authors: Abeles Tom P.
Published: August 2003

As knowledge is released from the bounds of libraries, as research becomes no longer confined to The academy, and education/certification is available, any time/any place, the university and the faculty must redefine themselves. Liberal studies, once the core, and currently eschewed in favor of science and technology, will be reborn in those institutions that can rise above the mundane and embrace an emerging “third culture”.
The green invisible hand
Authors: Emblemsvåg Jan
Published: August 2003

The idea behind the invisible hand is that when market participants pursue their own self‐interest constrained by sympathy for man and economic rivalry they satisfy the needs of others more effectually than if they intentionally tried to satisfy those needs. This pursuit of self‐interest drives the marketplace towards generation of wealth, and it has undoubtedly led to many technical and societal marvels, but limitations are evident because the material wealth has partly been developed at the expense of the natural and social wealth. To improve this unfortunate situation we need to fundamentally reengineer commerce. Some ideas are discussed here – an important one is the concept of money because an environmental equivalent of money is needed to make the invisible hand “green”.
An audit for organizational futurists: ten questions every organizational futurist should be able to answer
Authors: Hines Andy
Published: August 2003

This paper is intended to provide a guidebook for organizational futurists in building a foresight function inside today’s organizations by suggesting ten questions that ought to be answered. It addresses how to start from a blank page, but can also offer help to those who have already established a function by suggesting additional questions to think about. It is intended to give auditees a sense of the key issues and challenges they will face. Managers may also find this audit useful in giving a sense of what an organizational futures function can deliver and the skills required of a prospective organizational futurist. A key assumption here is that while there is a growing demand for organizational futurists, the role is evolving to more of a broker function than the building of a staff function more typical of the past.
Alternative futures of transport
Authors: Inayatullah Sohail
Published: August 2003

Based on the experience of transport policy and scenario planning in South‐East Queensland, this essay explores the alternative futures of transport. It does so by first exploring the weight of lock‐ins that make creating new futures nearly impossible. Next, the ways that the future can be used to transform policy are explored. Three futures methods are used to articulate the alternative futures of transport. These are the futures triangle (the push, pull and weight of the future); scenarios (triple bottom line to Gaia, industrial realism to likely collapse, global technologization leading to artificial societies, and localization leading to a return of the past) and causal layered analysis. The essay concludes with a feminist unpacking of transportation futures.
Benchmarking European information society developments
Authors: Ahokas Ira , Kaivo‐oja Jari
Published: August 2003

One way to think about the future challenges is to make benchmarking analysis, where other micro or macro level organisations are compared in relation to own activities and systems. This article includes benchmarking of all the EU‐15 countries. Authors report top 15 lists of various indicators. As a general benchmarking framework, the motivation, access and skills indicators system is used. In the study the authors perform correlation analyses of competitiveness and MAS‐indicators. A special contribution of the article is that it combines competitiveness analysis to macro level MAS framework’s social indicators analysis.
Foresight – using scenarios to shape the future of agricultural research
Authors: Schwab Patrick , Cerutti Fabio , Hélène von Reibnitz Ute
Published: August 2003

In the year 2000, the Agricultural Research Business Unit (ARBU) of the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture (FOA) decided to carry out a foresight process. Foresight means taking a systematic look at the future in order to be able to draw conclusions about actions taken or not taken in the present. Foresight is now best practise and is applied internationally by a growing number of countries and organisations, particularly in the areas of research and development, regional planning and business planning. The scenario technique seemed to us to be a suitable way of tackling the assignment. Over recent months we held a total of four scenario workshops, each of several days. Participants included people from a wide area connected with agricultural research together with representatives of related social fields. The result was two very different, but internally consistent scenarios (alternative ideas of the future). Based on the two scenarios developed, we drew up a master guideline with concrete measures fit to face the future. The results show that as far as organisational measures are concerned, staff motivation and training are key factors. With regard to technical measures, much attention is focused on the topic of food safety and health. It is now up to decision makers to determine the extent to which they accept and implement the recommendations of foresight in strategic business planning.
Future‐imbedded innovation methodologies
Authors: Buchen Irving H.
Published: August 2003

The double challenge is how to upgrade problem solving so that it is also innovative and how to position solutions so that they enjoy future longevity. It is possible to do both by employing future‐imbedded innovation methodologies. The new thinking and positioning involved are not only discussed in detail but also applied to leadership innovations in education and business. In addition, further demonstrations, in the areas of corporate training and performance evaluation, are explored. Finally, a profile of a new senior executive position, that of chief learning officer(CLO), and its focus on innovation management is offered as the current state of the art.
Nuclear power for the twenty‐first century
Authors: Schaffer Marvin B.
Published: August 2003

Improved nuclear reactor configurations that address major concerns of environmentalists and safety analysts are discussed. In addition to social acceptance, these new modes of power generation have economic potential to become the dominant producers of energy in the twenty‐first century. The class of power generation with this promise is the high temperature gas reactor (HTGR); the variant we focus on is the pebble‐bed modular reactor (PBMR). We also focus on using nuclear power as an energy source for desalinating seawater. Finally, the case is made that HTGR reactors are ideal for supplying the high‐temperature heat needed for manufacturing molecular hydrogen, a leading candidate for clean fuel consumption. These three themes are developed in a broad context with the objective of recommending policy actions dealing with global warming, public health, and economic opportunity.
Directed evolution in strategy and management sciences
Authors: Porath Amiram
Published: August 2003

Evolution has long been a biological process “borrowed” by management sciences to define structural and procedural development in organizations. The theory of Darwinian Evolution in biology has existed for a long time and still (with modification) remains the main theory in life sciences. However in biotechnology new concepts have risen. In parallel, organization sciences have been evolving the concept of evolution on different levels of the organization, discussing the evolution of organization during their life cycle, the evolution of populations of organizations, sectors, etc. Directed evolution in biology creates new organisms that can produce molecules with attributes better fitting industrial use, from naturally occurring organisms, allowing new organisms to function in non‐biological environments and perform processes they never needed to perform in a natural environment. We will show that by translating the concept from biology into organization sciences, we can develop the techniques for the evolution of new organizational structures and fitting routines, that would fit new emerging environments, where we seek the best adapted routines and structures for performance. We will adopt the concept of directly evolving a structure fitting for pre‐designed purposes by using bio‐technology methods, and will try and bridge the gap in organization sciences between the current development of the evolutionary theory and the advance made in biology. At the end discusses opportunities for research (the European Framework Program, national programs), together with a proposed general plan of action. The theory and the techniques descried can lead to further research and active experimentation.
Youngsters’ multi‐dimensional future perceptions by the year 2020
Authors: Elçin Gören Summak A.
Published: August 2003

Educational futurology has a unique place in the overall futuristic efforts that schools must be places where future is foreseen, cast and shaped. To achieve this end, we educators should have a clear idea of what future looks like in the eye of young school children and the emotional atmosphere they experience at school. Type of school curricula, gender difference, socio‐economic status of the family, mother’s and father’s educational background and occupation seem to have great impact on the way youngsters perceive mid‐range futures, on a triple basis. Samples of the study were 839 high school students selected randomly among the 9th, 10th and 11th grades from 12 high schools of six different programmes, enrolled in the high schools in 1998‐1999 in Gaziantep province, Turkey. The preliminary form of the data collection tool was administered to 1,010 subjects to assure validity and reliability. Throughout the study, the sample’s future perceptions were assessed on five sub‐scales, namely personal future, national future, global future, peaceful future and future wars. Findings revealed that type of school curricula and gender differences seemed to have an impact on the students’ future perceptions by the year 2020. Another noteworthy finding was that subjects also failed to see the intersections between their personal future and national and global futures, which would have cross impact on their lives, in one way or another. In this particular paper the first three futures will be submitted and discussed, with respect to curricular differences.
The sweeping changes of 1867 – what became of them, and how
Authors: Richardson Jacques G.
Published: August 2003

During a single, dynamic year of the nineteenth century, politics, economics, culture and technology shifted sharply throughout disparate regions of the world. Some of these changes were culminating events, some sudden and swift, others would need time to take total effect – but all would be innovative, if not revolutionary. Is there plan or order among such historic inflection points, and what roles do care and precaution play in the process?
Information and communications technology (ICT) agencies: functions, structures, and best operational practices
Authors: Schware Robert
Published: August 2003

A growing number of small states are in the process of establishing ICT agencies to address information society issues of e‐government, e‐infrastructure, e‐industry, e‐learning, and e‐commerce. Some large countries are in the process of integrating telecommunications, IT, and broadcasting into a single ICT agency. This paper outlines the functional requirements for such an agency, and presents a range of international best practices for their focus and operation. The paper also suggests interim measures that can be taken before such agencies are legally established.
Market definitions in the new European regulatory framework for electronic communications
Authors: de Streel Alexandre
Published: August 2003

The regulation of electronic communications has been recently reformed in Europe. One striking feature of the review was to base most of the economic regulation – the so‐called significant market power regime – on antitrust principles. In particular, the regulated markets have to be defined according to competition law methodologies. This paper describes this approach and studies in detail the recently adopted Commission recommendation “on relevant markets susceptible to ex‐ante regulation”. The paper concludes with three policy recommendations. First, as regulation is more flexible and more complex, national regulators should co‐operate among themselves and national courts should only reform regulatory decisions in case of manifest error. Second, as regulation is not any more justified by the “original sin” of the previous monopolists, but by the inefficiency of antitrust to control market power, NRA should be cautious not to overly expand their intervention. Third, as ex ante market definitions are aligned on antirust principles, authorities should make sure that market definition is not a goal in itself but only a means to achieve the policy objectives of the sector‐specific regulation.
The change in technical and allocative efficiency of local exchange carriers in the United States
Authors: Uri Noel D.
Published: August 2003

The issue explored is whether incentive regulation of local exchange carriers in the USA has resulted in an increase in efficiency. After providing an overview of the nature of incentive regulation, the methodology for measuring the effects of incentive regulation on efficiency is reviewed. This methodology is data envelopment analysis and allows for the measurement of both technical efficiency and allocative efficiency of individual local exchange carriers. The results of empirically implementing the data envelopment approach (DEA) approach indicate that there is little change in technical efficiency. In fact average technical efficiency in 1988 was the same as in 2001. Next, while outputs continued to grow at about their historical rate across LECs, the sizeable increase in the two types of capital increased inputs well above their historical average rates for some LECs leading to short run allocative inefficiency. On average, however, allocative efficiency shows no identifiable trend between 1988 and 2001. Finally, in the aggregate, total economic efficiency does not demonstrate any trend between 1988 and 2001.
The morning of competition: Nigeria’s NITEL drags its feet with poor customer service
Authors: Onwumechili Chuka , Okereke‐Arungwa Joy
Published: August 2003

This paper reports a study of 286 Nigerians and their perception of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) customer service. The study became necessary as NITEL, which is a century‐old monopoly, began preparing for a telecommunications market that had suddenly been opened to competition by the Nigerian government. Study outcomes showed that Nigerians did not consider NITEL’s services to be “good”, citing several complaints such as poor customer service in general, frequent line breakdowns, high costs, and lengthy installation time. Furthermore, a majority indicated preference for an alternative service provider in a competitive environment. The paper provides pointers to how best for NITEL to strategize considering the above research report. The paper argues that NITEL has very few choices as it is likely to cease existence if it fails to address lingering customer service issues in the coming years within this new competitive environment.
Evaluating intellectual capital in the hotel industry
Authors: Engström Truls E.J. , Westnes Petter , Furdal Westnes Siren
Published: August 2003

A single embedded case study design was applied to evaluate the intellectual capital of 13 hotels in the Radisson SAS Hotels and Resorts hotel chain. By using the ICAP methodology and multiple source data the study investigated the knowledge and data produced by an intellectual capital evaluation, and explored the potential relationship between intellectual capital and business performance. The results conclude that it is possible to evaluate intellectual capital in a hotel chain, and the knowledge and data from the intellectual capital evaluation provide useful information regarding the areas of identifying focal areas, resource allocation, strengths and weaknesses, benchmarking, and managing the future. In addition, the findings indicate that it is useful to evaluate a hotel's intellectual capital due to its potential relationship with business performance.
The impact of reputation capital on the career paths of departing employees
Authors: Hamori Monika
Published: August 2003

This paper examines the impact of corporate reputation capital on employees' career progression in the case of inter‐organizational transitions. A proprietary database that contains career history data on professionals, managers and executives in the financial services industry is used to test the hypotheses. The paper finds that reputation capital is most strongly determined by organization size, not operational efficiency. Reputation capital is an important predictor of the size of the promotions that employees receive as they change organizations, and may signal underlying individual capabilities and performance. Further, employees are willing to forgo a promotion in order to be able to join organizations with high reputation capital.
From implementing strategy to embodying strategy
Authors: Rylander Anna , Peppard Joe
Published: August 2003

For most knowledge‐intensive companies at present, the business environment where they compete is complex, characterized by rapid change and uncertainty. Employees and other intangible resources (i.e. intellectual capital) generally represent the most critical resources in the value creation process. Crafting strategy in such contexts is not helped by conventional models and tools of strategy. The assumptions which underpin many of them do not hold in the present competitive environment, making them at best irrelevant, but at worst leading to the development of strategies that can put the success of a company in jeopardy. New metaphors for describing these companies and their competitive realities, as well as tools for navigating in them, are required, if the strategy discipline is to remain relevant for practitioners. In this paper, it is suggested that the intellectual capital perspective can provide a bridge to the practical application of a vision‐ and values‐based strategy through the notion of embodying strategy in organizational resources. A conceptualization of strategy, that links strategy, identity and intellectual capital, more suitable to knowledge‐intensive companies competing in uncertain environments, is introduced and described.
Validating and measuring IC in the biotechnology and telecommunication industries
Authors: Palacios‐Marqués Daniel , José Garrigós‐Simón Fernando
Published: August 2003

This paper specifies how to construct and validate an intellectual capital (IC) measurement scale on the basis of management perceptions. In order to construct the scales, a process based on the works of Churchill and DeVellis, complemented by the Delphi technique and structural equations models was used. The use of this methodology was illustrated in an empirical study carried out in the biotechnology and telecommunication sectors. As a result, a validated instrument for IC research is obtained in view of the faithful and rigorous measurement of its key construct.
Intellectual capital and traditional measures of corporate performance
Authors: Firer Steven , Mitchell Williams S.
Published: August 2003

The principal purpose of this study is to investigate the association between the efficiency of value added (VA) by the major components of a firm's resource base (physical capital, human capital and structural capital) and three traditional dimensions of corporate performance: profitability, productivity, and market valuation. Data are drawn from a sample of 75 publicly traded firms from South Africa from business sectors heavily reliant on intellectual capital. Empirical analysis is conducted using correlation and linear multiple regression analysis. Findings from the empirical analysis indicate that associations between the efficiency of VA by a firm's major resource bases and profitability, productivity and market valuation are generally limited and mixed. Overall, the empirical findings suggest that physical capital remains the most significant underlying resource of corporate performance in South Africa despite efforts to increase the nation's intellectual capital base.
Distinguishing between the board and management in company mission
Authors: Bart Chris , Bontis Nick
Published: August 2003

A relationship between board/management “involvement” and “awareness” with organizational mission and their link to “employee commitment” and “organizational performance” was modeled by drawing on previous research. The model was tested with data from 339 large Canadian and US organizations. It was determined that “mission awareness” on the part of both the board and senior management is an important consideration in the determination of employees' commitment to the mission. However, the impact of board and management involvement with the mission is not identical. The results emphasize the strong and important role that the board performs when it is actively engaged in the development of the organization's mission.
The IC‐dVAL approach
Authors: Bounfour Ahmed
Published: August 2003

Over the last five years several frameworks have been suggested for the development of corporate' competitive advantage, on the basis of their intangible resources. These frameworks are mainly managerially oriented; they require the design of a set of metrics dealing with organisational inputs. Hence the importance of making the link between internal and external perspectives, especially those related to financial performance. Making such a link is the main aim of the intellectual capital dynamic value (IC‐dVAL®) approach, which integrates four dimensions for measurement – inputs, processes, assets, and outputs – and definesad hocmetrics for measuring intellectual capital in a dynamic way. This approach is now used at the corporate level in several contexts. It is also under consideration for implementation at the mesoeconomic and even the macroeconomic levels. The paper also presents how such an approach can be used at the country level, especially in Europe.
Moderating Effect of Allocentrism on the Pay Referent Comparison–Pay Level Satisfaction Relationship
Authors: Bordia Prashant , Blau Gary
Published: August 2003

Les comparaisons de rémunération tant à l’interne (comparaison entre sa rémunération et celle d’autres employés dans l’organisation) qu’à l’externe (comparaison entre sa rémunération et le marché), ainsi que le coût de la vie ont été reconnus comme ayant une influence sur la satisfaction face à la rémunération. À partir d’un échantillon d’employés du secteur public et privé en Inde, Bordia et Blau (1998) ont identifié la famille comme autre référant pouvant avoir un effet significatif sur cette satisfaction. Ce résultat fut alors interprété sous la perspective de l’importance de la famille dans des cultures dites “collectivistes”. Dans la présente étude, l’effet modérateur de la variable individuelle allocentrisme‐idiocentrisme (le niveau individuel de conceptualisation du collectivisme‐individualisme) sur la relation référant‐satisfaction a été examiné auprès de 146 employés travaillant dans trois organisations publiques en Inde. Les résultats ont révélé qu’après avoir contrôlé pour l’âge, l’ancienneté et le niveau de rémunération, la comparaison de rémunération explique plus de variance dans la satisfaction face à la rémunération pour les participants allocentriques que pour les idiocentriques. Les résultats ont aussi démontré que la famille et le niveau de rémunération étaient des variables explicatives plus fortes de la satisfaction respectivement pour les allocentriques et les idiocentriques, alors que le coût de la vie s’est révélé une variable significative pour les deux sous‐groupes.

Pay referent comparisons (comparisons of one's salary to that of others) such as other‐inside (salary of other people in the organisation), other‐outside (the market rate), and cost‐of‐living, have been shown to influence pay level satisfaction. Bordia and Blau (1998) identified family as another referent that had a significant effect on pay level satisfaction in a sample of public and private sector employees in India. The finding was interpreted in view of the importance of family in collectivistic cultures. In the study reported here, the moderating influence of an individual differences variable, allocentrism–idiocentrism (the individual level conceptualisation of collectivism–individualism) on pay referent comparison–pay level satisfaction relationship was investigated. A sample of 146 employees from three public sector organisations in India participated in the study. In line with the predictions, results showed that after controlling for age, tenure, and pay level, pay referent comparisons explained more variance in pay level satisfaction for allocentrics than for idiocentrics. Family and pay level were stronger explanatory variables of pay level satisfaction for allocentrics and idiocentrics, respectively, while cost of living was a significant explanatory variable for both sub‐groups.
The Influence of Cultural Values on Antecedents of Organisational Commitment: An Individual‐Level Analysis
Authors: Arzu Wasti S.
Published: August 2003

On s’est demandé dans cette recherche si les valeurs culturelles que sont l’individualisme et le collectivisme évaluées au niveau individuel avaient un impact sur le poids des différents facteurs de l’implication organisationnelle. Il est apparu que la satisfaction due au travail et à l’avancement était le déterminant primaire de l’implication affective et normative des salariés qui adhèrent à l’individualisme. Pour ceux qui s’orientent ver des valeurs collectivistes, être satisfait du supérieur était le facteur essentiel de l’implication, devant la satisfaction relative au travail et à la promotion. Des résultats analogues ont été obtenus pour l’implication à long terme. Bien que certains des antécédents de l’implication organisationnelle soient commun aux deux groupes, l’orientation vers la tâche ou vers les relations varie avec les individus relevant d’orientations culturelles différentes.

This study investigated whether cultural values of individualism and collectivism measured at the individual level influence the salience of different antecedents of organisational commitment. The findings indicated that satisfaction with work and promotion are the primary determinants of affective and normative commitment for employees who endorse individualist values. For employees with collectivist values, satisfaction with supervisor was found to be an important commitment antecedent over and above satisfaction with work and promotion. Similar results were obtained for continuance commitment. The results indicate that although some antecedents of organisational commitment are common across the two groups, the emphasis placed on task versus relationships differs across individuals with varying cultural orientations.
Ecological Behavior's Dependency on Different Forms of Knowledge
Authors: Kaiser Florian G. , Fuhrer Urs
Published: August 2003

Cet article présente trois raisons pour lesquelles l’influence de la connaissance sur le comportement écologique est systématiquement sous‐estimé. Tout d’abord, ce n’est pas la simple masse de connaissances disponibles que détermine le comportement: différentes formes de connaissances doivent converger pour favoriser le comportement écologique. Ensuite, l’impact de la connaissance n’est pas détecté parce que certaines procédures statistiques ne contrôlent pas les erreurs de mesure ni ne révèlent avec précision les influences interférentes. Enfin, les facteurs psychologiques tels que la connaissance ont apparemment une influence limitée sur le comportement écologique en présence de fortes pressions relevant de la situation. Mais quand une évaluation du comportement écologique fait systématiquement appel aux contraintes des situations (application d’un test), on peut s’apercevoir que la connaissance a un impact significatif sur le comportement écologique.

The present paper argues for three reasons why knowledge's influence on ecological behavior is underestimated systematically. First, it is not the mere amount of knowledge available that determines behavior. Different forms of knowledge must work together in a convergent manner if they are to foster ecological behavior. Second, knowledge's effect remains undetected also, because some statistical procedures neither correct for measurement error attenuation nor uncover mediated influences accurately. Third, psychological factors such as knowledge apparently have a limited influence on ecological behavior when strong situational constraints are effective. When an ecological behavior measure makes—as a performance test—systematic use of situational influences though, knowledge can be revealed as affecting ecological behavior significantly.
The Effects of Psychosocial Risk and Gender on School Attainment in Guatemala
Authors: Stith Adrienne Y. , Gorman Kathleen S. , Choudhury Naseem
Published: August 2003

On appréhende dans cette recherche les effets due genre et des facteurs précoces de risque biologique, social et psychologique sur l’obtention d’un diplôme d’études secondaires chez des adolescents ruraux du Guatemala. L’échantillon était composé de 333 jeunes (156 filles et 177 garçons) avec des données sur leur développement et leur santé, des indices cognitifs et des informations familiales remontant à leur petite enfance et à leur période préscolaire. Les résultats montrent que les adolescents qui ont été exposés à un nombre croissant de facteurs de risques précoces avaient une moindre probabilité de dépasser le stade de l’enseignement primaire. De plus, alors que les garçons et les filles avaient subi des risques similaires pendant leur prime enfance, un nombre significativement plus faible de filles poursuivaient leurs études au‐delà de l’enseignement primaire, et un risque accru était en relation avec une moindre probabilité d’atteindre l’enseignement secondaire pour les filles, mais pas pour les garçons. Ces résultats sont rapportés à l’importance de l’éducation scolaire pour le bien‐être économique et social des femmes dans les pays en voie de développement, et pour la santé et le bonheur de leurs enfants.

This study examines the effects of gender and early biological, social, and psychological risk factors on secondary school grade attainment in rural Guatemalan adolescents. The present sample comprised 333 adolescents (156 females and 177 males) with available data on growth, health, and cognitive indices as well as family histories measured during infancy and the preschool period. Results indicate that adolescents exposed to increasing numbers of early risk factors were less likely to seek education beyond primary school. Further, while males and females had experienced similar numbers of risks during early childhood, significantly fewer girls pursued education beyond the primary level, and increased risk was associated with decreased likelihood of secondary education for girls but not for boys. These findings are interpreted in light of the importance of formal education for the economic and social welfare of females in developing countries and for the health and well‐being of their children.
The Use of a Test for Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Rigidity for Dutch Immigrant Job‐applicants
Authors: Nijenhuis Jan te , Van Der Flier Henk , Van Leeuwen Liesbeth
Published: August 2003

Peut‐on extrapoler les dimensions Névrotisme, Extraversion et Rigidité aux groupes d’immigrés aux Pays‐Bas ? Et est‐il pertinent d’utiliser les scores de l’IRT dans l’évaluation des candidats à un emploie relevant de ces populations (L’IRT est le test de Rigidité de l’Institut de Psychologie clinique et industrielle de l’Université d’Utrecht aux Pays‐Bas) ? On a exploité les données issues de tests d’autochtones (N= 796) et d’immigrants de la première genération (N= 1,302) postulant en vue de postes ouvriers dans les Chemins de Fer néerlandais. Il est apparu que les échelles mesuraient les mêmes concepts dans les différents groupes et que la majorité des items avaient la même signification. La typologie peut par suite être transposée aux populations migrantes et le questionnaire peut être valablement utilisé pour effectuer des comparaisons dans des groupes culturellement homogénes de migrants candidats à un emploi nés à l’étranger et dont le néerlandais n’est pas la langue maternelle. Des travaux complémentaires sont indispenables pour s’assurer qu‐un même positionnement sur les échelles de personnalité pour des individus issus de différents groupes détermine bien un même comportement professionnel.

The questions addressed are whether a taxonomy with the basic dimensions Neuroticism and Extraversion and the dimension Rigidity can be generalised to immigrant groups in the Netherlands, and whether scores on the IRT (ICIP [Institute for Clinical and Industrial Psychology, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands] Rigidity Test) can be used for assessment of job applicants within these groups. Use was made of test data on first‐generation immigrants (N= 1,302) and majority group members (N= 796) applying for blue‐collar jobs at Dutch Railways. The scales appear to measure the same constructs in the various groups and the majority of the items do not show differential item functioning. Therefore the taxonomy can be generalised to immigrant populations and the questionnaire can be put to good use for comparisons within culturally homogeneous groups of non‐native born, non‐native language immigrant job applicants. More research is needed to determine whether the same position on the personality scales for persons from different groups leads to the same job‐related social behavior.
The Transparent Assessment Centre: The Effects of Revealing Dimensions to Candidates
Authors: Kolk Nanja J. , Born Marise Ph. , Der Flier Henk van
Published: August 2003

Quelles retombées peut avoir le fait de dévoiler aux participants les dimensions mesurées dans un centre d’évaluation ? Cette question est abordée dans deux études indépendantes qui font appel à des exercices individuels. Les résultats de la première étude n’indiquent aucune différence dans la validité de construction entre un groupe d’étudiants universitaires “transparent” (N= 99) et un autre “non transparent” (N= 50) ; ceci est contraire à ce qu’avaient trouvéKleinmann & al. (1996) et Kleinmann (1997) avec des exercices de groupe. Les évaluations moyennes ne changent pas à l’exception de la “sensibilité” qui augmente légèrement avec la transparence. Par contre, les résultats de la deuxième étude, qui faisait appel à un échantillon de candidats à un poste réel, débouchèrent sur une amélioration significative de la validité de construction chez le groupe “transparent” (N= 297) pa rapport au group “non transparent” (N= 393). La encore, les évaluation moyennes des deux groupes n’ont pas différé. Les apports de ces résultats pour la pratique et des suggestions pour de futures recherches sont présentés dans cet article.

What are the effects of revealing dimensions to candidates in an assessment centre? This question is addressed in two independent studies, using individual exercises. Results in Study 1 showed no difference in construct‐related validity between a transparent (N= 99) and a non‐transparent group of university students (N= 50), contrary to previous findings by Kleinmann, Kuptsch, and Köller (1996) and Kleinmann (1997), who used group exercises. Also, mean ratings did not alter, the exception being the dimension “Sensitivity”, which increased slightly after the transparency treatment. Conversely, results in Study 2, which contained a sample of actual job applicants, showed a significant improvement in construct‐related validity for the transparent group (N= 297) compared with the non‐transparent group (N= 393). Again, mean ratings did not differ between these two groups. Implications of these findings for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed in this paper.
Rhetoric without Responsibility: The Attraction of ‘Ethical’ Foreign Policy
Authors: Chandler David
Published: August 2003

This article analyses the shift, from the openly declared pursuit of national interests in foreign policy, to the growing emphasis on ethical or moral duties to protect the rights and interests of others, often in areas where western states have little economic or geo-strategic interest. It suggests that while international changes may have provided the opportunity to present foreign policy in ethical terms, an important impetus behind ethical foreign policy interventions may lie in the domestic sphere and the search for new mechanisms of enhancing political legitimacy. Ethical foreign policy is ideally suited to buttressing the moral authority of governments, often under question in the domestic context, because policy-makers are less accountable for matching ambitious policy aims with final policy outcomes in the international sphere. The gap between rhetoric and responsibility lies in the fact that policy can be declared a success with little regard for policy outcomes, as there is no formal accountability to non-citizens abroad, while problems can be blamed on the actions of other people or their governments. The freedom of manoeuvre provided by the ethical agenda of foreign policy activism allows governments to cohere a sense of purpose and mission through the projection of their power abroad when they find it increasingly difficult to act decisively at home.
Unravelling Control Freakery: Redefining Central-Local Government Relations
Authors: Wilson David
Published: August 2003

Central-local relations have been of particular interest since the Labour government came to power in 1997. Both academics and practitioners have pointed to tensions within the Labour government's reform agenda—between a ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approach; between a drive for national standards and the encouragement of local learning and innovation; and between strengthening executive leadership and enhancing public participation. It is argued that while Labour's modernisation strategy has clear elements of a top-down approach (legislation, inspectorates, white papers, etc) there is also a significant bottom-up dimension (a variety of zones, experiments and pilots, albeit with different degrees of freedom). This article utilises a multi-level governance framework of analysis and argues that, while much of the research using such frameworks has hitherto focused on the EU, recent developments in governance at neighbourhood, local authority, sub-regional and regional levels facilitate its application within a nation state. The central thesis is that, while there is extensive interaction between actors at sub-national level, this should not be seen as a proxy for policy influence. The local political arena is characterised less by multi-level governance than by multi-level dialogue. Sub-national actors participate but they are rarely major players in shaping policy outcomes: the plurality which characterises sub-central governance does not reflect a pluralist power structure.
Prime Ministerial Predominance? Core Executive Politics in the UK
Authors: Heffernan Richard
Published: August 2003

Prime ministerial predominance can enable the prime minister to lead, if not command, the core executive, and, in concert with others, to direct, if not control, its policy development. Leadership predominance facilitates prime ministerial predominance within the executive, and prime ministerial predominance reinforces leadership predominance within the party. Such predominance arises from the prime minister's ability to access a series of personal and institutional power resources. The more resources, the more powerful and predominant the prime minister is; the fewer resources, the less powerful and predominant they are. Such resources are necessarily transient, being accumulated and inevitably dispersed, acquired and lost, and are never permanent. When possessed, they can grant the prime minister considerable, if never overwhelming, intra-executive authority and influence, and the opportunity to be a stronger, but not the only element within the core executive.