Internal audience segmentation and diversity in internal communication

Purpose Workforce diversity is becoming a crucial matter in the area of internal communication. Realizing that there are multiple brackets within the body of a workforce (i.e. internal audience), the purpose of this paper is to develop an intermediate approach to manage diversity by segmenting the internal audience. Design/methodology/approach Developing a segmentation approach for managing diversity, the authors recommended the use of a few mathematical methodologies, including the expectation-maximization algorithm, partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) methodology, and Chow test, on a surveyed data set collected from 1,236 nurses of the US healthcare system. A PLS-SEM model, including employees’ mission awareness, management’s mission fulfillment, employees’ mission fulfillment, and turnover intention, was examined with respect to two internal segments. Findings Using a simple set of demographic variables, the authors demonstrated a practical approach to segmenting an internal audience and showed that causal relationships in a nomological network of variables regarding mission integration are significantly different between internal segments. Based on the segmentation approach, the authors proved that managers, in an effort to gain maximum diversity, can mix and match both the centrifugal force of diversity and the centripetal force of diversity to value individuals and for mission integration in their practices, respectively. Research limitations/implications The authors highlighted a practical matter of internal communication by connecting the concepts of diversity and internal audience segmentation. However, the generalizability of the results must be assessed in other settings. Practical implications While managing diversity involves valuing employees as individuals, the segmentation concept can function as a practical and useful intermediate tool for managing diversity. Practitioners can utilize varied sets of segmented variables according to their contexts. Social implications The authors emphasized valuing employees as individuals and developed a managerial way to make personal differences an asset to the productivity of an organization and society. Originality/value Introducing a segmentation approach to internal communication and adopting a set of useful statistical techniques, the authors attempted to develop a unique managing model of diversity. The authors suggested a dynamic and substantial segmentation of an internal audience with a smaller set of appropriate variables in each context.

The effects of organization mission fulfillment and perceived organizational support on job performance

Purpose – Drawing from Bagozzi’s (1992) reformulation of attitude theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test a conceptual model that links organization mission fulfillment (OMF) and perceived organizational support (POS) to job performance (JP) via work engagement (WE). Design/methodology/approach – Data gathered from frontline bank employees with a time lag of two weeks and their supervisors in Northern Cyprus were utilized to test the aforementioned relationships. Findings – The results from structural equation modeling suggest that OMF and POS foster WE. WE in turn stimulates employees’ JP. In short, WE fully mediates the effects of OMF and POS on JP. Research limitations/implications – Incorporating creative performance into the conceptual model would shed further light on WE as a mediator of the effects of OMF and POS on various performance outcomes. Gathering data from frontline bank employees in similar islands would allow conducting a cross-national study. Practical implications – Management of banks can organize workshops where frontline employees can contribute to the preparation of the mission statement. Employees making such contribution will display elevated levels of WE, because they contribute to something which is significant and meaningful. Management should also use selective staffing procedures to hire individuals who are customer oriented and therefore feel energetic and dedicated and are engrossed in their work. Originality/value – This study contributes to the current knowledge base by linking OMF and POS to JP via WE in frontline service jobs in the retail banking industry.

Test of a mediational model of organization mission fulfillment: evidence from the hotel industry

Purpose This paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model, guided by conservation of resources theory, that examines whether emotional exhaustion is a mediator between organization mission fulfillment and critical outcomes such as turnover intentions, lateness attitude, job performance and extra-role customer service. Design/methodology/approach The aforesaid relationships were assessed via data gathered from customer-contact employees two weeks apart in three waves and their immediate supervisors in the international five-star chain hotels in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The relationships in the model were gauged via structural equation modeling. Findings The results reveal that organization mission fulfillment influences the above-mentioned outcomes only through emotional exhaustion. Specifically, organization mission fulfillment mitigates customer-contact employees’ emotional exhaustion. Under these circumstances, these employees report desirable outcomes such as low levels of quitting intentions and lateness attitude as well as higher in- and extra-role performances. Research limitations/implications In future research, collecting data from different service settings in different countries would enable the researcher to conduct a cross-national study and make further generalizations. In future research, including actual turnover and absenteeism as well creative and service recovery performances in the model would enrich the understanding about the outcomes of organization mission fulfillment and emotional exhaustion. Practical implications Management needs to use several intra-organizational communication tools so that customer-contact employees can have an understanding of how the organization is trying to accomplish its mission. When employees participate in and contribute to the preparation of the organization’s mission statement, they own the mission statement and do their best to achieve the organizational objectives. Management should also offer a work environment where employees can avail themselves of psychosocial support to be provided by mentors. Such psychosocial support would enable employees to manage problems emerging from emotional exhaustion. Originality/value This paper contributes to current knowledge by testing the effect of the organization’s fidelity to its mission statement on emotional exhaustion and the above-mentioned job outcomes using data obtained from employees in frontline service jobs in the hotel industry.

Publishing cooperatives: An alternative for non-profit publishers

Publishing cooperatives — owned, controlled, and benefiting non–profit publishers — would provide an organizational and financial structure well suited to balancing society publishers’ twin imperatives of financial sustainability and mission fulfillment. Market challenges and structural constraints often render it difficult for small society publishers to compete individually. Publishing cooperatives would allow society publishers to remain independent while operating collectively to overcome both structural and strategic disadvantages and to address the inefficiencies in the market for academic journals. Publishing cooperatives can provide a scaleable publishing model that aligns with the values of the academy while providing a practical financial framework capable of sustaining society publishing programs.