bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Employee‐centred management in a call centre
Authors: Halliden Bill , Monks Kathy 
Published: April 2005

PurposeThis paper presents the findings of research undertaken in a customer contact centre in Ireland in which a series of measures were introduced to implement employee‐centred work practices. The paper examines the processes by which the measures were undertaken and considers the changes to performance that were attributed to the involvement initiatives.Design/methodology/approachAn action research approach was utilised in studying the problem and a variety of measures were utilised to identify alterations in employee perceptions and employee performance over the period of the introduction of the changes.FindingsThe results of the interventions within the call centre indicated improvements in employee perceptions of their work situation as measured by the dimensions of the survey instrument. In addition, performance also improved during this time. However, while the thrust behind the change initiatives was one of involvement, at the same time decisions about which issues were open to an involvement process were made by management and there were indications of a dualist approach in the introduction of the employee‐centred initiatives.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was confined to one organisation which limits the extent to which the findings are generalisable.Practical implicationsProvides insights into the range of approaches to involvement that might be utilised within a call centre.Originality/valueThe paper considers an array of techniques which are now being used to manage employees within a call centre environment.
Local house price developments and housing supply
Authors: De Vries Paul , Boelhouwer Peter 
Published: April 2005

PurposeIn this paper, we identify the relationship between (local) housing supply and (local) house price developments, especially in The Netherlands.Design/methodology/approachWe measure the influence of new building on house prices by comparing areas designated for concentrated new building (main Dutch cities) with areas where no large housing projects are developed. On the basis of classical economic theory, if the housing market is functioning as it should, then supply will soon respond to a shock in demand and restore stability in house prices.FindingsFor the main Dutch cities, we found that an increase in supply triggers a fall in prices. In other areas the correlation coefficients are more or less zero, which can lead us to conclude that the expansion of the housing stock is market‐compliant.Research limitations/implicationsThe housing market is not functioning, as it should: new supplies depend on the complex decisions of the suppliers, thus making it difficult to express statistically the causality between the house price developments and the new supplies.Practical implicationsMost studies suggest that macro data are unable to measure the true dependency between the house prices and the new building and claim at the same time that micro data sets are incomplete. Also our research was hampered by a shortage of usable data.Originality/valueNew building can push up the value of the surrounding housing because it is associated with a qualitatively better housing stock. We conclude that in regions where new building has been concentrated in designated areas, the relationship between housing production and price development is inverse.
To what extent do enablers explain results in the EFQM excellence model?
Authors: Carlos Bou‐Llusar J. , Escrig‐Tena Ana B. , Roca‐Puig Vicente , Beltrán‐Martín Inmaculada 
Published: April 2005

PurposeTo take an in‐depth look at the EFQM Excellence Model by assessing how enabler and result criteria are interrelated, and how enablers as a whole affect the complete set of results.Design/methodology/approachProvides new insight and understanding of the associations between the EFQM criteria. Canonical correlation analysis is used to measure the relationships between enablers and results, while accounting for interdependences within those sets of variables. To test the suggested causal relationship, data from a questionnaire survey conducted on 446 companies (manufacturing and service sectors) is used.FindingsThe set of enabler criteria is strongly related to the result criteria set and, with the exception of policy and strategy criteria, all the enablers and result criteria in the EFQM Excellence Model make a significant contribution to this relationship. All the enabler criteria contribute in the same way to result improvements, consequently a balanced approach in the development of enablers allows correlation between enablers and results to be maximised, thereby obtaining an optimal benefit from the EFQM Excellence Model.Research limitations/implicationsThe data obtained are based only on sample of Spanish firms. Studies in other countries should be conducted to ensure the reliability of the results obtained. A natural extension of this paper would be to analyse the existence of differences between industries in the EFQM Excellence Model.Practical implicationsA greater understanding of the linkages between the elements making‐up the EFQM model, facilitating the guiding role that award models play in the implantation of TQM systems.Originality/valueA new perspective for examining the linkages between the EFQM criteria in depth. The study of the relationships between all its elements is taken into account, thereby avoiding testing isolated associations. A holistic approach to studying the relationships in the EFQM Excellence Model.
A new single‐sample failure model and its application to a special CNC system
Authors: Zhou Guangwen , Jia Yazhou , Zhang Haibo , Wang Guiping 
Published: April 2005

PurposeThis paper is to present a new failure model that can be applied to single‐sample failure data of a single system under testing.Design/methodology/approachThe Bayesian method is used for the reliability evaluation. The weighted least squares method is used for determining the parameters of the reliability function.FindingsThe authors have observed the operation of a special computer numerical control (CNC) system for a period of over two years, and maintained a reliability database will all the collected failure data, from which the main source of failures can be identified.Research limitations/implicationsPreliminary research results are very encouraging. However, more work will be necessary to validate the new failure model.Practical implicationsThe determination of the parameters of the reliability function of a system under testing helps to identify its failure characteristics and potential quality problems.Originality/valueIt is hoped that the paper can help understand some of the challenges in modeling the failure behavior of special CNC systems.
Work team effectiveness in organizational contexts
Authors: Gil Francisco , Alcover Carlos‐María , Peiró José‐María 
Published: April 2005

PurposeThis introductory paper aims to provide a contextualization of recent research and applications on work team effectiveness in organizational contexts carried out in Spain and Portugal and to describe connections between this research and the main trends in the international scene.Design/methodology/approachSince the 1990s, new occupational and organizational realities have deepened scientific interest in work teams in both Spain and Portugal. A range of recently published (1992‐2004) works in this area are reviewed. The selected sources are papers published in Spanish, Portuguese and international journals.FindingsReviewing this work, four major trends are identified that synthesize the key concerns of researches in both countries: work teams and new information/communication technologies; intra‐ and inter‐group conflicts in organizational contexts; definition, dimensions and measurement criteria for work team effectiveness; and teams in innovation and change processes.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils a panoramic vision of this research area in both Spain and Portugal, and provides an overview of the papers included in this special issue and an outlook for the future.
Types of intragroup conflict and affective reactions
Authors: Medina Francisco J. , Munduate Lourdes , Dorado Miguel A. , Martínez Inés , Guerra José M. 
Published: April 2005

PurposeSeeks to evaluate the link between task and relationship conflict, and their influence on some employees' affective reactions such as satisfaction, wellbeing, and propensity to leave a job; and to analyse the mediated and moderated role of relationship conflict.Design/methodology/approachThe study involved 169 employees from six service organizations (hotels) in Andalusia (Spain). A questionnaire was used containing different measures: task and relationship conflict, wellbeing, job satisfaction, and propensity to leave the job.FindingsThe two types of conflict have different consequences. Data show that relationship conflict is negatively associated with affective reactions, while task conflict does not relate directly to affective reactions in a predictable way; relationship conflict has a positive influence on the desire to leave the current job, while task conflict does not affect it negatively; the interactive effect of relationships and task conflict shows that this interaction contributes substantially to predict the propensity to leave the current job; and relationship conflict mediates in the link between task conflict and affective reactions.Research limitations/implicationsA high level of task conflict may backfire by boosting relationship conflict as well, thus having a negative effect on affective reactions. Thus some conclusions can be drawn with a view to improving conflict management in teams. First an attempt must be made to understand the type of conflict that is taking place. Second, managers should encourage open discussion of task‐related issues. Third, special attention should be paid to the level of each conflict because of its interactive effects on some affective outcomes. Thus, in spite of the generally beneficial effects associated with task conflict, the intensification of task‐related conflict may backfire when interacting with dysfunctional affective‐dissent.Originality/valueServes too analyze the mediated and moderated role of relationship conflict and to test the role of types of conflict on affective reactions such as wellbeing and propensity to leave the job.
Exploring the effects of intragroup conflict and past performance feedback on team effectiveness
Authors: Margarida Passos Ana , Caetano António 
Published: April 2005

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test a model of the effects of intragroup conflict (relationship conflict, task conflict and process conflict), past performance feedback and perceptions of team decision‐making effectiveness on team performance and affective responses.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 183 individuals, working in 47 different teams, participated in this study. All the teams were involved in a national management challenge for a five‐week period. Three questionnaires were sent directly to team members by e‐mail at different times of the challenge period to collect data concerning demographic data (questionnaire 1), perceptions of team functioning (questionnaire 2) and perceptions of team decision‐making effectiveness as well as the affective responses (questionnaire 3). The level of analysis in this study was the group. Thus, all individual survey responses were aggregated to the team level for statistical analysis.FindingsResults showed a full mediation effect of perceptions of team decision in the relationship between process conflict and team performance. Task and relationship conflict showed no significant relationships with team performance and satisfaction with the team. The result that effective past performance feedback directly influences team performance, in a positive way, suggests that past effective decisions may reinforce the decision‐making processes previously used by team members.Research limitations/implicationsOne possible limitation of this study is the fact that measurements were taken at different times of the management challenge. In fact, while intragroup conflict was measured two weeks after the beginning of the challenge, the other variables were measured at the end of the challenge. This time measurement difference could raise some questions concerning the stability of the intragroup conflict over time in work teams. Future research should address this hypothesis. Future research should also elucidate the influence of contextual variables, such as cultural values, on the relationship between intragroup conflict and performance outcomes.Practical implicationsThis study helps managers to understand how to benefit from conflict. In a highly competitive environment, disagreement among team members about “how to do it” seems to decrease decision‐making effectiveness.Originality/valueThis study fills a gap in the conflict literature concerning the impact of intragroup conflict in the team members' perceptions of decision‐making effectiveness and how it affects the overall performance. Moreover, this study also clarifies the importance of past performance to the actual team outcomes.
Effects of task interdependence and type of communication on performance in virtual teams
Authors: Rico Ramón , Cohen Susan G. 
Published: April 2005

PurposeTo investigate the effects of within‐group task interdependence and the degree of communications synchrony on performance in virtual teams (VT).Design/methodology/approachA 2 × 2 factorial design of 240 participants in Spain, randomly assigned to 80 three‐person teams, was used. Teams worked virtually (not meeting face‐to‐face), performing a merit‐rating task in a laboratory setting.FindingsThe analyses revealed an interaction effect between task interdependence and synchrony of communication. High values of VT performance were found both under conditions of “low task interdependence” and “asynchrony of communication” and under conditions of “high task interdependence” and “synchrony of communication”. The results show that superior VT performance is contingent on the match between the nature of the task and the choice of communications modality.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, additional research will be needed to confirm and extend the findings in actual working environments. Second, a closer look is necessary at the different mediation processes employed by teams in situations where there is a better or worse fit between task characteristics and type of communication (e.g. team strategy).Practical implicationsThis study makes it clear that it is necessary to optimize and nurture one's investments in communication technologies, and calls for further consideration of the requirements for the design of technological solutions in accordance with task interdependence.Originality/valueThis work complements past research that has focused mainly on virtual teams using asynchronous technologies or comparing them with face‐to‐face teams.
A model of socially responsible buying/sourcing decision‐making processes
Authors: Park Haesun , Stoel Leslie 
Published: April 2005

PurposeSocially responsible buying/sourcing (SRB) has become a critical issue in many companies. The purpose of this study was to build an exploratory model to describe buying/sourcing professionals' SRB decision‐making process.Design/methodology/approachAdopting business ethics and attitude theories, the SRB process was hypothesized to be a composite of cognitive processing and affective reactions to personal sources of information (e.g. peers). The mail survey data obtained from buying/sourcing professionals in the US apparel/shoe companies were analyzed using a Structural Equation Modeling technique.FindingsSRB generally followed a cognitive decision framework and was partly influenced by the decision maker's affective reaction to peer buying/sourcing professionals' behaviors. Emotional reaction to top‐management, however, was not significant.Research limitations/implicationsThe SRB scale created for this study is focused on the apparel/shoe buying context, which may limit its applicability to other industries. Also, SRB was measured through subjective perceptions of the respondents, which may be subject to some degree of social desirability bias.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that changing the organizational environment where employees observe peers and providing standards of what is socially acceptable can improve SRB.Originality/valueBy employing individual decision makers as the unit of analysis, this study advances the field of ethical decision making by providing empirical evidence that SRB decisions are a product of both cognitive processing and emotional responses.
Bricks, clicks, and pix: apparel buyers' use of stores, internet, and catalogs compared
Authors: Goldsmith Ronald E. , Flynn Leisa R. 
Published: April 2005

PurposeTo compare and contrast clothing buyers who buy in stores, on the internet, and through catalogs so as to better understand these behaviors.Design/methodology/approachWe surveyed 805 US consumers. They reported attitudes and shopping behaviors. These were compared among those who shopped chiefly in stores, on the internet, and through catalogs.FindingsConsumers who shopped more and spent more for clothing did so via all three shopping modes. Buying on the internet was more highly related to buying by catalog than it was to store buying. Heavy buyers of clothing by all three shopping modes were more involved with fashion, more fashion innovative, and more innovative regarding online buying than light and medium buyers regardless of the shopping mode. Fashion opinion seeking and reliance on sales associates for information were unrelated to amount of buying for all three shopping modes.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are limited to US consumers and the convenience sample. Other limitations include the specific measures used, and the cross‐sectional survey method prevents us from making causal statements. The effects of other, unmeasured variables could not be assessed. Future studies could avoid these limitations by using data from several countries, representative samples, and additional variables.Practical implicationsBrick and mortar stores have less to fear from the internet than often thought. Catalogs are more likely to lose sales to the internet than are stores. The most profitable apparel companies might be catalogs or physical retailers who add/build web sites, while pure play companies may have a more difficult time achieving profitability. Apparel managers should focus research attention on learning more about the psychology of their buyers. While involvement with clothing leads to buying more via all three shopping modes, it is more important for store buying than buying by catalog or internet. Remote buyers of clothing are less fashion involved. Catalogs and apparel web sites might wish to feature new fashions, but they may be more successful in selling “standard” or normal clothing online than the latest fashions. They might broaden the selection of fabrics and colors to offer buyers more choices in the styles they already like. Clothing innovators shop more frequently via all three modes, but are most strongly drawn to stores.Originality/valueLittle research compares shopping across modes. Because modern clothing retailing involves all three modes, the study provides an unusual picture of this shopping behavior.
Career challenges for female managers in Egyptian hotels
Authors: Kattara Hanan 
Published: April 2005

PurposeThis paper aims at providing a profile of female managers in Egypt, determining their positions in hotel departments, and investigating the challenges preventing them from reaching the top management positions.Design/methodology/approachA sample of female managers in five star hotels was randomly selected, followed by an in‐depth interview conducted with 56 female managers. This sample represented 37.6 percent of the total population.FindingsThe results of the study depicted that the majority of female managers were not in situations that would lead them to the positions of general managers. The study detected several factors preventing female managers from reaching the glass ceiling. The stepwise multiple regression showed that 35.5 percent of the variance in the existence of challenges could be explained by four factors; gender discrimination, relationships at work, mentor support and lack of network access.Research limitations/implicationsThis study might be considered as a first step in understanding the situation of females in the hospitality industry in the Middle East region. Future studies concerned with different female issues in the industry should be diagnosed.Originality/valueIt is hoped that the results of the study would help alleviate the challenges that female managers face by increasing awareness, and illustrating the predominance of several factors prohibiting females’ advancement within the hospitality industry. It is prospected that the study findings will not only be of academic concern, but will also be beneficial for industry leaders and practitioners in practical application.
Modeling the influence of multiple expiration dates on revenue generation in the supply chain
Authors: Huq Faizul , Asnani Sanjay , Jones Vernon , Cutright Ken 
Published: April 2005

PurposeInventory control models for perishable products have primarily used a FIFO issuing policy with the objective of minimizing the number of outdated units. This paper aims to develop a model to evaluate an issuing policy for a single product with a fixed shelf life in single echelon inventory system. The issuing policy considers the remaining shelf life of the in‐stock inventory and the expected time that the product will spend in inventory as the decision driver.Design/methodology/approachThe model developed has an objective of maximizing expected revenue over time with a budget constraint. A heuristic algorithm is proposed to iteratively arrive at the best solution to the formulation. The heuristic is tested by employing a simulation model of the system.FindingsThe proposed heuristic is tested against both the FIFO and the random allocation approaches and found to be superior for all the in‐stock with remaining shelf life distribution means of above 40 percent. No significant performance differences were found for the three approaches for remaining shelf life distribution.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is focused on a single product with multiple expiration dates and further research is necessary to determine the best policies for the multi‐product multi‐expiration date environment where the items are substitutable..Practical implicationsRetailers stock items with multiple expiration dates. The customer, for obvious reasons, is more likely to choose the item with the longer remaining shelf life. Therefore, the supply to the retailer's shelves and issuing policies for making available the particular items to the customers affect product outdating and related costs. Revenues will be affected by the extent to which more can be charged for items with a longer remaining shelf life or by the impact of the remaining shelf life on demand. This paper provides for a practical approach to that end.Originality/valueThe proposed issuing policy has not been tested before and thus makes a contribution to the body of knowledge. The flexibility of using different values for acquisition costs, selling prices, salvage value and penalty functions is a particular strength of the proposed model. Moreover, its potential application to inventory control problems for a wide range of perishable products is substantial.