bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Big five personality factors, hardiness, and social judgment as predictors of leader performance
Authors: Bartone Paul T. , Eid Jarle , Helge Johnsen Bjorn , Christian Laberg Jon , Snook Scott A. 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influence of psychological hardiness, social judgment, and “Big Five” personality dimensions on leader performance in US military academy cadets at West Point.Design/methodology/approachArmy cadets were studied in two different organizational contexts, i.e. summer field training and during academic semesters. Leader performance was measured with leadership grades (supervisor ratings) aggregated over four years at West Point.FindingsAfter controlling for general intellectual abilities, hierarchical regression results showed leader performance in the summer field training environment is predicted by Big Five extroversion, and hardiness, and a trend for social judgment. During the academic period context, leader performance is predicted by mental abilities, Big Five conscientiousness, and hardiness, with a trend for social judgment.Research limitations/implicationsResults confirm the importance of psychological hardiness, extroversion, and conscientiousness as factors influencing leader effectiveness, and suggest that social judgment aspects of emotional intelligence can also be important. These results also show that different Big Five personality factors may influence leadership in different organizational contexts.Practical implicationsThe study identifies personality factors related to leader performance in different types of work environments or contexts. Results can be used to improve leader selection and development programs.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine the influence of psychological hardiness together with Big Five personality factors on leader performance. It identifies hardiness as an important predictor of leadership, while also showing that organizational context makes a difference for what Big Five personality factors influence leader performance: extroversion appears to be more influential in highly social and active work environments, whereas conscientiousness has greater salience in academic and business settings.
A dynamic theory of leadership development
Authors: Isaac Mostovicz E. , Kakabadse Nada K. , Kakabadse Andrew P. 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThis paper aims to offer a dynamic theory of leadership development.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines selected leadership literature through the lens of theory building‐blocks. It identifies the role of the ideal goal in leadership and its importance in developing the psychological aspect of leadership.FindingsThe paper posits that leadership is a developmental process, which is based on the type of choice a leader makes. While choice implies that two good options are always available from which to select, one should make choices in accordance with the leader's worldview, looking for affiliation (i.e. the Theta worldview), or looking for achievement (i.e. the Lambda worldview). Consequently, leaders need to recognise that the choices they make for organisational activities have to fit their own worldview. Pursuing the fit between one's worldview and planned organisational activities ensures that leaders continuously improve their ethical behaviour. The paper concludes with the presentation of a dynamic theory of leadership, which is based on the assumption that one can only strive toward truly ethical leadership with the knowledge that this goal is beyond human capacity.Research limitations/implicationsBeing a theory‐based exploration, the paper does not provide empirical examples of how this theory might be applied in practice.Originality/valueThe paper provides an example of a dynamic theory, introduces the concept of Theta and Lambda worldviews and provides a better definition of leadership strategy and tactics.
Predictors of leadership effectiveness for Chinese managers
Authors: Vilkinas Tricia , Shen Jie , Cartan Greg 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThis study sets out to investigate the leadership roles, the predictors of leadership effectiveness for Chinese managers, and the relative effects of gender and rater differences on perceived leadership roles. The study is important as it seeks to investigate whether a leadership model (the Integrated Competing Values Framework) developed for Western cultures explains the leadership behaviours of Chinese managers.Design/methodology/approachUsing a 360° feedback method, the data for the study were collected from 49 middle managers and 142 of their significant others (boss, peers and staff). The data were submitted to a repeated measures ANOVA, with role displayed and position as the within‐subjects factors and gender as the between‐subjects factor, to determine whether there were any significant main or interaction effects. A standard multiple regression was performed, between the effectiveness as the outcome and the leadership roles. This was followed by a forward regression analysis.FindingsThe empirical evidence shows significant differences in the extent to which the leadership roles were displayed. Chinese managers were focused most on getting the job done (deliverer) and monitoring performance (monitor) followed by developing staff (developer) and developing networks (broker). Being innovative (innovator) was the least displayed leadership role. The managers showed moderate reflective capability (integrator) and moderate effectiveness. They rated themselves higher than did their bosses, peers and staff. Their bosses also rated the managers' leadership behaviours higher than did the peers and staff. However, there was no significant difference between men and women in their leadership roles displayed or effectiveness. In the forward regression, the developer contributed relatively most to the prediction of effectiveness.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature on cultural and institutional effects on leadership behaviour and effectiveness. The findings show that cultural and institutional differences do significantly affect variability in leadership behaviour associated with leadership effectiveness.
Employee reactions to M&A: role of LMX and leader communication
Authors: Bhal Kanika T. , Uday Bhaskar A. , Venkata Ratnam C.S. 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess cognitive, affective, and behavioral reactions of employees to merger and acquisition (M&A) situations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reports responses of 225 managers of four banks that have gone through mergers (two merger cases), recently in India. Data are collected on a structured questionnaire containing standard scales of leader‐member exchange (LMX), leader communication and employees' reactions to M&As. The psychometric properties of the measures are established before testing the hypotheses.FindingsResults show that affect mediates the relationship between cognitive and behavioral reactions to M&A. Leader communication fully mediates the relationship of the contribution dimension of LMX with cognitive reactions.Research limitations/implicationsThe results have implications for using LMX and communication with the leader in M&A situations. Though, single source data may be a limitation but primary data from real‐life M&A situation is strength of the paper.Originality/valueThe study offers insight into the affective, cognitive and behavioral reactions of employees to merger and acquisition situations.
Employee empowerment
Authors: Boudrias Jean‐Sébastien , Gaudreau Patrick , Savoie André , Morin Alexandre J.S. 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to extend past research by investigating the relationships between supervisors' empowering management practices (SEMP), employees' psychological empowerment (PE), and a new measure of employees' behavioral empowerment (BE). A mediation model is hypothesized.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire study is conducted among 359 non‐managerial employees. Because BE is both self‐reported and externally assessed, relationships are verified with single‐source and multi‐source data.FindingsSEMP are quite strongly related to PE, but more weakly related to BE. Structural equation analyses tend to support a model where PE completely mediates the relationship between supervisors' managerial practices and employees' BE.Research limitations/implicationsThis cross‐sectional study does not provide indication of causality among the variables.Practical implicationsFirst, this paper suggests that feeling empowered is a pivotal mindset that needs to be created by supervisors to generate proactive behaviors. Second, the moderate correlation found between PE and BE measures suggests that they capture different facets of empowerment. Given management concern for bottom line results, behavioral measures should not be ignored in assessing employee empowerment.Originality/valueThis paper used a behavioral criterion to assess employee empowerment rather than relying solely on a psychological measure.
Leadership … for success
Authors: Mannion Kieran 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying differences in the initial and ongoing development of business leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to see if causal links might be identified that could explain the leadership elements that lie beneath the US' productivity advantage.Design/methodology/approachResearch was undertaken on a Fulbright Scholarship to study management and leadership development. The information was gathered through semi‐structured interviews with 45 internationally experienced human resource managers and management and leadership development practitioners in the public, private and not‐for‐profit sectors across eight states in the USA.FindingsThe determinates of business success are highly structural in nature. However, analysis indicates that dramatic improvements in productivity are readily, and universally, available to all business enterprises simply through the adoption of globally existing best practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe results obtained from this work are the observations of well‐informed, managers and development practitioners. A high proportion of those interviewed had direct personal experience of working with managers in the UK and Ireland. Their views and opinions are, of course, anecdotal in nature but, where possible, they are either validated or rejected with reference to the current academic literature available.Practical implicationsFor private enterprise and public sector policy makers alike, there are clear lessons on the value of investment in leadership and management development as one of the most cost‐effective ways to encourage higher levels of business and economic performance.Originality/valueThe paper provides an analysis of some of the factors that contribute to the persistent productivity gap between the USA and the UK and offers a range of action areas that would help to improve business and economic performance.
Organizational climate, relative psychological climate and job satisfaction
Authors: Schyns Birgit , van Veldhoven Marc , Wood Stephen 
Published: October 2009

PurposeOrganizational climate has been shown to predict job satisfaction and other employee attitudes. Using the concept of organizational climate, strength has shown mixed success. However, diversity in psychological climate at the individual level has not been explored. The paper aims to introduce a new individual‐level concept: relative psychological climate paper.Design/methodology/approachUsing the example of supportive leadership climate, the significance of this concept for predicting job satisfaction is assessed. Data from a large national British survey (the Workplace Employment Relations Survey of 2004) of 19,993 employees within 1,593 workplaces are used.FindingsWorkplace supportive leadership climate quality, climate strength and individual relative leadership climate position are shown to be significantly associated with job satisfaction. So is the interaction of climate quality and climate strength. When all three variables are assessed simultaneously, only the individual relative position and the climate quality are substantially related to job satisfaction.Originality/valueIndividual relative climate is introduced and the shows that this new concept is related to job satisfaction, thereby demonstrating its usefulness in climate research.
Understanding failure to change: a pluralistic approach and five patterns
Authors: Werkman Renate A. 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand failure to change by examining patterns of coherent structure and agency characteristics in changing organizations in specific sectors and to provide specific recommendations for intervention in these patterns.Design/methodology/approachA large survey in 367 organizations engaged in different change processes and from different sectors, among employees in different positions.FindingsThe paper finds that there are five patterns among changing organizations, each with their own specific problems, characteristics, and change approaches that require different interventions.Research limitations/implicationsParsimony in research models and the study of overall relations between variables does not help to understand failure to change. More integrative approaches are needed that take variety among changing organizations into account.Practical implicationsChange agents should not opt for a “one best strategy” for change but choose a contingent change approach that takes into consideration the specific characteristics of their organizations, change processes, and contexts in order to make change more successful.Originality/valueThis paper establishes that successful change cannot be explained by one or a few variables but is contingent on an interplay of agency, structure, and contextual characteristics. Together, these characteristics form constellations that characterize different sectors. The paper provides suggestions for more successful change.
Exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics: a review of recent developments
Authors: Bogue Robert 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review recent developments in exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics.Design/methodology/approachThis paper first describes a number of recently developed exoskeletons for military, civil and medical applications. It then discusses robotic prosthetics and concludes with a brief consideration of progress in brain‐computer interface (BCI) technology.FindingsRobotic exoskeletons are the topic of a major research effort, much being funded by the US military, and aims to impart superhuman strength to the wearer. Japanese research is also well advanced and concerns a range of non‐military applications, including strength enhancement and medical rehabilitation. Some products have recently been commercialised. There has also been significant progress in the development of robotic prosthetic limbs, a topic which is also attracting support from the US military. A key aim is the development of thought‐controlled prosthetics which will arise from advances in BCI technology.Originality/valueThis paper provides a detailed review of the latest developments in exoskeletons and robotic prosthetics.
Forward kinematics analysis of a six‐DOF Stewart platform using PCA and NM algorithm
Authors: Wang Zhelong , He Jianjun , Shang Hong , Gu Hong 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an adaptive numerical algorithm for forward kinematics analysis of general Stewart platform.Design/methodology/approachUnlike the convention of developing a set of kinematic equations and then solving them, an alternative numerical algorithm is proposed in which the principal components of link lengths are used as a bridge to analyze the forward kinematics of a Stewart platform. The values of link lengths are firstly transformed to the values of principal components through principal component analysis. Then, the computation of the values of positional variables is transformed to a two‐dimensional nonlinear minimization problem by using the relationships between principal components and positional variables. A hybrid Nelder Mead‐particle swarm optimizer (NM‐PSO) algorithm and a modified NM algorithm are used to solve the two‐dimensional nonlinear minimization problem.FindingsSimulation experiments have been conducted to validate the numerical algorithm and experimental results show that the numerical algorithm is valid and can achieve good accuracy and high efficiency.Originality/valueThis paper proposes an adaptive numerical algorithm for forward kinematics analysis of general Stewart platform.
Omni‐directional vehicle control based on body configuration
Authors: Chugo Daisuke , Kawabata Kuniaki , Kaetsu Hayato , Asama Hajime , Mishima Taketoshi 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a new wheel control scheme for wheeled vehicle with passive linkage mechanism which realizes high step‐overcoming performance.Design/methodology/approachDeveloping wheeled vehicle realizes omni‐directional motion on flat floor using special wheels and passes over non‐flat ground using the passive suspension mechanism. The vehicle changes its body shape and wheel control references according to ground condition when it runs over the rough terrain.FindingsUtilizing the proposed wheel control scheme, the slip ratio and the disturbance ratio of the wheel reduce when the vehicle passes over the step and its step‐overcoming performance is improved.Originality/valueThe paper's key idea is modification of its kinematic model referring to the body configuration dynamically and using this model for wheel control of the vehicle. The controller adjusts the wheel control references when the vehicle passes over the rough terrain changing the body shape and reduces the slippage and the rotation error of wheels.
Motion planning for omni‐directional mobile robots based on anisotropy and artificial potential field method
Authors: Leng Chuntao , Cao Qixin 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a suitable motion planning for omni‐directional mobile robots (OMRs) by taking into account the motion characteristics.Design/methodology/approachBased on the kinematic and dynamic constraints, the maximum velocity, motion stability and energy consumption of the OMR moving in different directions are analysed, and the anisotropy of the OMR is presented. In order to obtain the optimal motion, the path that the robot can take in order to avoid the obstacle safely and reach the goal in a shorter path is deduced. According to the new concept of anisotropic function, the motion direction derived from traditional artificial potential field (tAPF) is regulated.FindingsA combination of the anisotropic function and tAPF method produces high‐speed, highly stable and efficient motion when compared to the tAPF. Simulations and experiments have proven the validity and effectiveness of this method.Research limitations/implicationsThe practical factors, such as the effect of wear on the omni‐directional wheels, are not considered. Typical problems of APF, e.g. local minima, are not addressed here. In our future research, we will deal with these issues.Practical implicationsThe proposed motion planning is applicable for any kind of OMRs, both three‐ and four‐wheeled OMRs, which can fully exhibit the advantages of OMRs.Originality/valueThe new concept of an anisotropic function is proposed to indicate the quality of motion in different directions. Different motion effects can be obtained in the same direction with different weights denoted by the anisotropic function, i.e. different trade‐offs can be achieved by varying the weights.
A robotic system based on fuzzy visual servoing for handling flexible sheets lying on a table
Authors: Zacharia Paraskevi , Aspragathos Nikos , Mariolis Ioannis , Dermatas Evaggelos 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a flexible automation system for the manipulation of fabrics lying on a work table and focuses on the design of a robot control system based on visual servoing and fuzzy logic for handling flexible sheets lying on a table. The main contribution of this paper is that the developed system tolerates deformations that may appear during robot handling of fabrics due to buckling without the need for fabric rigidization.Design/methodology/approachThe vision system, consisting of two cameras, extracts the features that are necessary for handling the fabric despite possible deformations or occlusion from the robotic arm. An intelligent controller based on visual servoing is implemented enabling the robot to handle a variety of fabrics without the need for a mathematical model or complex mathematical/geometrical computations. To enhance its performance, the conventional fuzzy logic controller is tuned through genetic algorithms and an adaptation mechanism and the respective performance is evaluated. The experiments show that the proposed robotic system is flexible enough to handle various fabrics and robust in handling deformations that may change fabric's shape due to buckling.FindingsThe experiments show that the proposed robotic system is flexible enough to handle various fabrics and robust in handling deformations that may change fabric's shape due to buckling.Research limitations/implicationsIt is not possible to cover all the aspects of robot handling of flexible materials in this paper, since there are still several related issues requiring solutions. Considering the future research work, the proposed approach can be extended to sew fabrics with curved edges and correcting the distortions presented during robot handling of fabrics.Practical implicationsThe paper includes implications for robot handling a variety of fabrics with low and medium bending rigidity on a working table. The intent of this paper deals with buckling in context of achieving a successful seam tracking and not the correction strategy against folding or wrinkling problems.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need to study the fabrics' behavior towards robot handling on a working table.