scholarly journals Does Tenure and Age Influence Work Environment Perception of Faculty in Business Schools?

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-89
Author(s):  
Asha Sara Mammen ◽  
Harold Andrew Patrick

The right attitudes, belief and spirit of acceptance are the basic essentials to achievement of growth, innovation and sustainability in a constantly changing scenario. One aspect that leads to significant difference in attitudes, belief’s and perception are the demographic attributes of employees. Review of literature have shown that there is a negligence of the use of demographics in OB and HRM research leading to a state called black box filled with unreliable, vague and untested theories. Considering the importance and contribution of the Indian educational sector towards the emerging knowledge based and technology driven economy, the core stakeholders which are the faculty need to be in an environment that enables them cater to the development of minds. This paper investigates the influence of demographics which are tenure based and age on the perception held by faculty members towards the dimensions of their psychological work environment. Survey data was collected from a sample of 182 faculty members working in AICTE recognized and state university affiliated business schools in Kerala by administering standardized, valid and reliable tools. One-way ANOVA was used to analyse data. Results show that there was mixed response toperception towards work environment dimensions across the different tenure based demographics considered such as tenure with current organisation, tenure of teaching experience, tenure of industrial experience, tenure of total work experience and age. The implications, findings and suggestions for future research are detailed

10.28945/3940 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 001-020
Author(s):  
Abdoulaye Kaba ◽  
Chennupati K. Ramaiah

Aim/Purpose: This study investigates the issue of knowledge acquisition among faculty members. Background: The paper reports the use of knowledge acquisition tools and reading knowledge sources by faculty members. It also identifies demographic differ-ences among participants in using knowledge acquisition tools and reading knowledge sources. Methodology: The study used an online survey-based questionnaire tool for data collection. The participants consisted of 300 faculty members from 26 academic institu-tions in UAE. Statistical tests are used to verify and validate the hypotheses. Contribution: The paper represents one of the few empirical studies conducted on knowledge acquisition among faculty members in the GCC countries. Find-ings of the study may contribute to the theoretical and practical understanding of knowledge acquisition among faculty members. Findings: Findings of the study revealed that medical faculty members read knowledge acquisition sources more than other faculty members. Likewise, IT faculty members use knowledge acquisition tools more than other faculty members. Results of the study supported stage three of knowledge acquisition proposed in the “Stage Theory of Knowledge Consumption Growth” (Mathew, 1985). The study found that journals are the most sources read by the participants while web-based training (WBT) tools are the most used knowledge acquisition tools among faculty members. Results of the study indicated significant differ-ences among faculty members of different age groups, academic ranks, aca-demic specializations, and institutional affiliation in reading knowledge sources. Likewise, findings of the study revealed significant difference among partici-pants of different academic specializations in using knowledge acquisition tools. Recommendations for Practitioners: Results of the study could be extrapolated to other faculty members in the GCC countries. Recommendation for Researchers: More researches could be done to address different issues of knowledge acquisition among faculty members. Impact on Society: Faculty reading of knowledge sources and use of knowledge acquisition tools may have direct or indirect positive impacts on innovation, creativity, and re-search productivity in any society. Future Research: It will be interesting to apply more than one data collection method in the future research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximiliane Wilkesmann ◽  
Uwe Wilkesmann

Purpose The rise of new information and communication technologies forms the cornerstone for the future development of work. The term Industry 4.0 refers to the vision of a fourth industrial revolution that is based on a network of autonomous, self-controlling, self-configuring, knowledge-based, sensor-based and spatially distributed production resources. All in all, different forms of the application of the Industry 4.0 concept can be observed, ranging from autonomous logistic transport systems drawn upon the idea of swarm intelligence to smart knowledge management systems. This paper aims to develop a theoretical framework to analyze different applications of Industry 4.0 on an organizing continuum. The general research questions are: What forms of organizing digitalized work lead to the reproduction of routines, and what forms foster innovation within Industry 4.0? The authors thus analyze the consequences of different forms of organizing work on workers’ perceptions and the results of the working process. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides case studies for different stages of the organizing continuum in the context of Industry 4.0. The cases and a further analysis of all 295 funded projects are based on the Platform Industry 4.0 Map, which is part of the Industry 4.0 initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The consequences for people acting in such organizational and digitally supported structures are discussed. Findings A variety of applications of Industry 4.0 can be found. These applications mainly vary in the dimensions of the degree of formalization, the location of control authority, the location of knowledge and the degree of professionalization. At the right side of the organizing continuum, the digitalization organizes a work environment that supports highly qualified humans. They have broad leeway and a high degree of autonomy to design and create innovative forms of digitalization for tomorrow. At the left side of the organizing continuum, Industry 4.0 structures a work environment with narrow leeway, a low degree of autonomy and a top-down structure of control authority predetermined by digital applications. In this case, employees fill the gaps the machines cannot handle. Research limitations/implications As the paper focuses on Industry 4.0 developments in Germany, the comparability with regard to other countries is limited. Moreover, the methodological approach is explorative, and broader quantitative verification is required. Specifically, future research could include quantitative methods to investigate the employees’ perspective on Industry 4.0. A comparison of Industry 4.0 applications in different countries would be another interesting option for further research. Practical implications This paper shows that applications of Industry 4.0 are currently at a very early stage of development and momentarily organize more routines than innovations. From a practical point of view, professional vocational and academic training will be a key factor for the successful implementation of digitalization in future. A joint venture of industry and educational institutions could be a suitable way to meet the growing demand for qualified employees from the middle to the right-hand of the organizing continuum in the context of Industry 4.0. Social implications Industry 4.0 is designed by men, and therefore, humans are responsible for whether the future work situation will be perceived as supportive or as an alienated routine. Therefore, designers of Industry 4.0, as well as politicians and scientists, absolutely must take the underlying outcomes of digitalized work into account and must jointly find socially acceptable solutions. Originality/value This paper provides a promising avenue for future research on Industry 4.0 by analyzing the underlying organizational structures of digital systems and their consequences for employees. Moreover, the paper shows how Industry 4.0 should be organized to simply reproduce routines or to support innovation.


Author(s):  
Kizzy M. Parks ◽  
Felicia O. Mokuolu ◽  
Daniel P. McDonald

For businesses to keep pace with contemporary workforce changes, it is imperative to foster an inclusive work environment that empowers, values, identifies, and capitalizes on the workforces’ talents, skills, and abilities. Although diversity is recognized as a crucial element for organizational performance, its measurement lacks standardization. Organizations tend to follow simplistic assessment approaches, typically by tracking and measuring salient areas (i.e., easily measured areas such as the demographics of the organization and/or promotion rates). Thus, they fail to evaluate the actual effectiveness of diversity initiatives. Given that this approach is limited and lacks the substance that would inform organizational strategies of the need to increase employee engagement and productivity, the authors leveraged the expertise of two practitioners to discuss methods for measuring the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion programs. In addition, diversity is discussed as related to innovation, employee engagement, and change management, thereby leading to suggestions for future research.


2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-100
Author(s):  
Norah Alghamdi

This study aimed to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions regarding mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia, including their attitudes, levels of proficiency, and challenges they experienced regarding the use of MALL. The study also sought to investigate whether EFL teachers’ backgrounds have any significant impact on their perceptions of MALL. To this end, survey data were collected from 123 EFL teachers who have worked in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia. The results revealed teachers’ positive perceptions of MALL, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, participants stated that mobile learning is beneficial and has the potential to support and enhance EFL teaching. Most EFL teachers reported that they did not have a sufficient level of skills/abilities required to develop MALL activities and cited some challenges they faced. The results also indicate a significant difference among participants’ perceptions of MALL based on their professional development and teaching experience, but no difference based on their gender was found. These results indicate that placing a greater emphasis on offering professional development in MALL for Saudi EFL teachers could cultivate both greater proficiency and the ability to overcome challenges. This study concludes by providing recommendations on how to improve MALL implementation as well as directions for future research.


Author(s):  
Hui-Fang Shang

<span lang="EN-US">With the rapid growth of computer technology, some printed texts are designed as hypertexts to help EFL (English as a foreign language) learners search for and process multiple resources in a timely manner for autonomous learning. T</span><span lang="EN-US">he purpose of this study was to</span><span lang="EN-US"> design a hypertext system and examine if a 14-week teacher-guided print-based and hypertext reading intervention might benefit non-traditional EFL students’ reading comprehension. Non-traditional EFL students are older students with greater work experience. The primary investigation finding revealed no significant difference in comprehension between the teacher-guided print-based and hypertext intervention conditions, though a significant mean improvement was found after hypertext learning. EFL learners’ attitudes also supported that both teacher-guided print-based and hypertext interventions merit reading comprehension performance. In addition, there appears to be a significantly strong and positive relationship between the perceived usefulness of hypertext reading and attempt of future hypertext use, suggesting that the majority of non-traditional EFL learners made a positive willingness and prediction to use the hypertext system in their future reading, but that the degree of usefulness of hypertext reading was not reliably predicted by their hypertext comprehension scores. Based on the investigation results, limitations and future research are discussed and presented.</span>


Author(s):  
S KhoshKesht ◽  
A Yaghoobzadeh ◽  
N Dehghan-nayeri‏

Introduction: The success of an organization is determined by its human ‎resources. Work engagement leads to higher productivity and performance of the organization. Leaders seek to understand the impact of ‎their leadership style on work engagement. This is even more important in educational organizations but research in this area is insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between department ‎manager’s leadership styles and faculty member’s work engagement in some Iranian universities of medical ‎sciences‎. Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical correlational study. 149 people including faculty members and department managers with at least 6 months of work experience were selected through the convenience sampling method. Data collection tools included ‎a demographic questionnaire, a multi-factor leadership questionnaire, and a Schaufeli & Bakker work engagement questionnaire whose validity and reliability were examined. ‎Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16. Result: A total of 114 faculty members with 13.42 ± 9.75 and 35 department managers with 19.91 ± 8.67 work experience participated in this study. Faculty members reported high work engagement. There was a positive and significant relationship between work engagement and interactional (P = 0.010) and transformational leadership (P = 0.001). ‎There was a significant difference between manager’s and employee’s views on the interactional ‎and transformational leadership (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Managers can promote job engagement by selecting the proper leadership style, and the advantages can be leveraged to boost organizational productivity.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1321103X1989917
Author(s):  
Jennifer Blackwell

The purpose of this study was to develop a measure to investigate studio teacher’s observational skill as a function of the observer’s ability to identify effective pedagogical practices. A secondary purpose was to see if observational skill varied as a function of scores on a measure of empathy. Participants ( N = 60) were saxophonists who observed and wrote about the strengths and weaknesses of two 1-minute videos of private saxophone lessons and two private violin videos. To develop expertise criteria, four expert teachers observed the videos for their respective instruments and their responses were converted into lists of strengths and weaknesses. These lists were then compared to participants’ responses and used as criteria for determining the degree to which participants’ analyses matched the experts’ responses. Participants also completed a demographic survey and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire. Results indicated that the degree to which participants’ analyses matched the experts did not vary as a function of teaching experience. The degree to which participants’ analyses matched the experts also did not vary as a function of empathy scores, though descriptive trends indicated that higher empathy scores were accompanied by a greater degree of match. There was a significant difference in degree of match between the participants and experts for the saxophone and violin videos. Implications for tool refinement and future research are discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-169
Author(s):  
S. Maheswaran ◽  
Sabyasachi Rath ◽  
N. S. Vani

Job satisfaction has been one of the major facets of research in behavioural sciences covering wide range of cross-cultural populations. Nevertheless, researching on the satisfaction among faculty members has been unexplored, at least in India. The present paper intends to study the level of job satisfaction among the faculty members at select B-schools in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The objectives of the study are to find the ranking preference for job satisfaction dimensions and to assess the satisfaction in relation to demographic variables of the faculty members. A random sample of 53 faculty from 29 B-schools, to whom a questionnaire was administered. The results reveal that faculty members prefer teaching, pay, coworkers, management and research as the top satisfaction dimensions. Further, there is significant difference between job satisfaction score according to age and designation. Implications were drawn for improving job satisfaction and also for future research considerations.


Author(s):  
Naifa Eid AI-Saleem ◽  
Mohammed Nasser Al-Suqri

This research paper aims to investigate the beliefs (perceptions) about distance education(DE) held by the faculty members of Sultan Qaboos Uuniversity (SQU) at the Sultanate of Oman as well as the differences between their beliefs (perceptions) with regards to gender, teaching experience, college academic rank, nationality, etc. This study used a questionnaire as a method of data collection. Findings of the study indicated statistically significant difference in terms of gender. Results show that female faculty members hold positive beliefs (perceptions) about the use of DE in learning and teaching whereas compared to their male colleagues. With regards to nationality, the study found statistically slight differences, wherein the Omani faculty members yielded higher scores on the positive statements and lower at the negative statements.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-69
Author(s):  
Naifa Eid Saleem ◽  
Mohammed Nasser Al-Suqri

This research paper aims to investigate the beliefs (perceptions) about distance education(DE) held by the faculty members of Sultan Qaboos Uuniversity (SQU) at the Sultanate of Oman as well as the differences between their beliefs (perceptions) with regards to gender, teaching experience, college academic rank, nationality, etc. This study used a questionnaire as a method of data collection. Findings of the study indicated statistically significant difference in terms of gender. Results show that female faculty members hold positive beliefs (perceptions) about the use of DE in learning and teaching whereas compared to their male colleagues. With regards to nationality, the study found statistically slight differences, wherein the Omani faculty members yielded higher scores on the positive statements and lower at the negative statements.


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