zahra alavi, Habibollah Taherpour, Firouz Raznehan
et al.
Purpose: The present study aimed to design a job model to assess the feasibility of teleworking in public jobs and to determine job criteria for decision-making for teleworking.
Methodology: The type of this research was inductive, applied, and field survey. We prepared twelve separate questionnaires for the activities of twelve general jobs, each of which included twenty-five teleworking indicators. The twelve general jobs were the ones occupied by experts in administration, finance, public relations, planning, training and development, budgeting, accounting, research, software analyzing and developing, IT, HR, and construction and facilities areas. The sample size consisted of 180 subjects who were selected through available sampling method from the following agencies: Administration and Employment Organizations, The Center for Tehran City Studies and Planning, The Institute for Management and Planning Studies, The Iranian Insurance Center, and Atieh Hospital. We used exploratory factor analysis to analyze the data.
Findings: The results were categorized into five factors: the need for transparency, no need for coordination or face-to-face interactions, the need for advanced knowledge and no need for close supervision, lack of task sensitivity, and no need for physical presence.
Originality: Teleworking implemented in organizations has not been based on specific indicators or standards; besides, critical conditions such as infectious diseases, air pollution, energy shortages have affected teleworking. In fact, false and unrealistic teleworking has been implemented in organizations. Given the fact that job characteristics play a significant role in assessing the organization's readiness for successful implementation of teleworking, it is essential to pay attention to the suggested factors for teleworking introduced here.
Economic growth, development, planning, Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Hamidreza Samanipoor, Fatemeh Shaterian Mohammadi, Mahnaz Askarian
et al.
Purpose: This study seeks to develop and validate an Assessment Centre (AC) tool for the evaluation and selection of Owner-Managers of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), focusing on the identification of competencies that influence producting and job creating outcomes. International research supports the creation of Assessment Centres to select candidates for these roles, due to their superior predictive capacity over traditional methods.
Methodology: In terms of goal, the research is applied-development and in terms of research method, it is mixed. In this research, a model composed of six face-to-face instruments (an individual interview, oral presentation, group discussion, truth discovery, cartable simulation and role playing) was designed and validated which simulated the key tasks of an Owner-Manager.To establish the desired performance outcomes, four competencies and 10 indicators were selected, based on international and local standards. The analysis of performance results was obtained from a sample of 60 participants made up of Experts, industrial owners and owner-managers.
Findings: The results suggest positive evidence for construct validity, concurrent criteria validity, and reliability between evaluators. Moreover, the data obtained from a sub-sample of Owner-Managers, with three or more years of experience in their role, allowed for the association of their AC scores with the results of their Industrial organisations, as measured by the small industries and industrial parks organisation.
Originality: By providing a model of Assessment center for managers, this research provides a process for evaluating and developing owner-managers of industrial enterprises in order to select the most suitable person for the desired job.
Economic growth, development, planning, Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Seyed Mohammad Reza Torabipour, Reza Taghvaei, Kambiz Hamidi
Background & Purpose: The high rate of voluntary and involuntary separation of employees in most cases signals organizational issues. The separation of experienced and efficient personnel, especially for sensitive positions, may have irreparable consequences. For leading organizations, therefore, the concept of the "Employee separation Management" is of particular importance, such that they strive to maintain a stable rate between incoming and outgoing human forces. level of stability between in the input and output of the work force. Therefore, considering the direct and indirect costs of employee separation and the importance of employee role in the performance of organizations, the present study aims to provide a model of "Human Resource Functions for Employee Separation Management" in government organizations.
Methodology: Current research is applied in term of purpose and using a mixed research approach (qualitative-quantitative). In the first step and using a qualitative approach, data was acquired by conducting semi-structured interview with human resource experts and managers. Using thematic analysis method an initial research model was extracted. In the second step and based on the structural equation modeling methodology, the research model developed in the first step was validated.
Findings: For human resource functions, this research identifies a number of ten main components/themes, namely human resource planning, employee recruitment, compensation, performance management, career development, training, organizational discipline, motivation, succession, and social support. This research, furthermore, reveals 51 subsidiary themes for human resource functions.
Conclusion: Having GOF values of 0.561, the structural equation modeling indicates a strong modelling fit for the initial research model.
Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Purpose: The present research, intends to formulate and propose a theoretical basis of administrative development for the Seventh Development Plan, along with the upstream documents.
Methodology: This research was of evaluation type and attempted to use the evaluation process method to formulate a theoretical basis of administrative development with an emphasis on the Seventh Development Plan.
Findings: The results of the research show that there is no dependable theoretical basis for developing program rules in the field of administrative reform. Therefore, by identifying different theoretical views in the field of administrative reform and by selecting appropriate criteria in the light of upstream documents, both the evaluated theories of administrative development and the view of transcendental values management are proposed as a suitable theoretical basis for administrative development.
Originality: Studies have been conducted to select a theoretical basis for administrative development in Iran with an approach of Islamic governance. This study was able to propose a defensible theoretical basis for formulating program rules in the field of administrative development for the Seventh Development Plan in Iran by focusing on the evaluation methodology of theoretical views.
Economic growth, development, planning, Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Background & Purpose: In the current era, due to the intense competition of organizations to attract qualified and talented people, organizations try to empower their human resources. Therefore, organizations pay special attention to their training process and development to overcome this issue. As a result, the aim of this study was to identify and prioritize the effective criteria in outsourcing the human resources training process and selecting the best educational institution.
Methodology: This research is applied in terms of purpose and quantitative in terms of method. In the first step, the effective criteria on the selection of the educational institution were identified by studying the theoretical and experimental literature as well as consulting the experts. Then, the four selected educational institutions were ranked by using Marcos' multi-criteria decision making technique. In this regard, statistical population of the research consisted of managers and experts of the human resources unit of Saba Electricity, Energy Company, and its subsidiaries. Six managers and experts were selected as sample members by purposeful judgmental sampling method.
Findings: Research results show that among the studied dimensions, the "benefits" dimension has the highest weight, and "A2" institute has obtained the highest score among the educational institutions. Also, from another perspective, the use of Marcos multi-criteria decision making technique in the field of human resource management is one of the most important achievements of this research.
Conclusion: Senior managers and human resource managers of companies of Saba Electricity and Energy Holding to achieve their long-term and short-term goals should pay special attention to various aspects of outsourcing the human resources training process. In this regard, paying attention to the dimension of benefits is of special importance. For outsourcing the training process, decision-making techniques offer a better choice.
Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Palestinian companies nowadays realize the importance of performance management systems. This study examines the moderating effect of employee participation in the relationship between perceived effectiveness of performance management system and affective commitment of employees in Palestinian service companies. A questionnaire was designed using Google Docs and distributed randomly via e-mail among 174 employees working in Palestinian service companies. A structural equation modeling, using AMOS V26, was used to test the hypotheses. The findings showed that perceived effectiveness of performance management system has a significant positive impact on affective commitment (β = 0.77; p-value = 0.000). While the justice dimension of perceived effectiveness of performance management system has a significant positive impact on affective commitment (β = 0.52; p-value = 0.007), the accuracy dimension was found insignificant (β = 0.26; p-value = 0.178).Regarding the moderating effect, neither the interaction between the perceived effectiveness of performance management system and employee participation (β = –0.031; p-value = 0.465) nor the justice dimension was significant (β = 0.103; p-value = 0.203). Nevertheless, the interaction between the accuracy dimension and employee participation was negative (β = –0.14; p-value = 0.034). This study yielded support for the importance of perceived effectiveness of performance management system. Employees who perceived the performance of management system to be effective have higher affective commitment. Therefore, managers, especially HR managers, in service companies should pay more attention to the perceived effectiveness of performance management system, especially its justice dimension, to gain the benefits of committed employees.
Farhad Alipoor, Mohammad Rahimian, Atefeh Sodeiri javadi
Purpose: Employees’ self-alienation toward work and organization’s grand policies disrupts the implementation of policies and reaching goals. This study intended to investigate into self-alienation toward work and policies and how it affects the employees’ attitudes and behaviors.
Methodology: The approach of this research is quantitative. The sample size, determined by simple random sampling method, was comprised of 182 managerial and non-managerial members of the State Administrative and Employment Organization. Data were collected through standard questionnaires and were analyzed by structural equation modeling.
Findings: The impact of employees’ self-alienation towards work and organization’s policies on such behaviors as willingness to quit job and deviant work behavior is positive and significant. However, it has negative and non-significant effect on desirable behaviors like hard work and perseverance.
Originality: The findings of this research can play a determining role in effective implementation of policies at this organization by emphasizing the improvement of employees’ attitudes and behaviors.
Economic growth, development, planning, Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Mohammad Ali Bolouki Korandeh, Alireza Amir Kabiri, Mina Jamshidi
Background & Purpose: The emergence of private banks alongside state-owned banks and the intensification of competition between them has caused banks to devote a large part of their energy and power to improving their performance and productivity, which was achieved by increasing management coaching activities; Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a coaching model for managers in the banking industry. Method: The research is qualitative in terms of data nature and content analysis method. The participants of the research are professors (with at least 10 years of service and at least a doctorate degree) and banking system specialists (with at least 10 years of service and at least a bachelor's degree (S) that the sample size after theoretical saturation was 15 people and purposefully selected. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and data analysis by thematic method using MAXQDA software. Findings: The findings showed that the categories of coaching in the field of private banking include "knowledge and expertise, ethics, personality traits, shared values, leadership, coaching techniques, management skills." Therefore, the obtained model has the ability to implement coaching in the field of banking. Conclusion: Using the findings of this study can nurture the talents of employees and turn human resource weaknesses into strengths for the organization. It also increases the succession capacity of the organization and in the long run can increase productivity in the organization.
Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Background & Purpose: Managerial attention to the outcomes and aspects of organizational decision-making can help improve the social reputation and credibility of an organization. This study identified and determined the relationships of factors affecting moral decision-making. Methodology: This is an applied study with a sequential mixed method (qualitative-quantitative) research design. The meta-synthesis approach and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique were employed to identify factors and determine their relationships, respectively. The statistical population, in the first section, included all of the available studies existing in Iran’s reputable scientific databases on moral decision-making. In the second section, the statistical population included the directors and employees of DanaSarmaye Company in Shiraz who had financial problems. The purposive sampling method was then applied. Findings: The most important factors affecting moral decision-making included 15 personal, organizational, social, and environmental factors, the relationships of which were classified as six effectiveness categories. Conclusion: Promotion of moral decision-making among managers requires the improvement of certain prerequisites, and prioritization of the factors having the greatest effects will help improve the effectiveness of these attempts.
Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
There are issues in organizations that require new theoretical formulation. Hence, metaphorical theorizing is used in the study of organizations to interpret them and understand their complexities. In this method, the organization is likened to an entity and one of the key features of that entity is generalized to the organization. It should be borne in mind that most organizational theories are based on a positivist paradigm that focuses on knowledge and data in an attempt to discover the nomothetic of social systems. This article is an attempt to build a theory based on interpretive paradigm that puts the organizational black hole theory forward in a metaphorical way. The black hole theory of the organization has been adopted from the cosmic black hole metaphor. In the first step, the key features of the organizational black hole were summarized in accordance with the researcher's interpretation, taking into account the one-on-one correspondence and adopting the cosmic black hole characteristics. In the second step, the definition of the organizational black hole was presented based on key features, and in the third step the overall framework of the theory was formulated. In addition, by analyzing the characteristics of the organizational black hole theory, it was found that this theory falls under the interpretative paradigm. Finally, how one can test the theory in terms of falsifiability or utility is discussed.
Economic growth, development, planning, Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Development of the private sector, running businesses by private sector enterprises and privatization of state-owned enterprises are a dominant approach in most countries. Ample empirical evidence has strongly supported the effectiveness of this approach. In Iran, 39 state-owned companies, whose market value is about 60% of the total value of the country’s stock market, joined the stock market between 2001 and 2015. There were two major objectives behind this move: improving the performance and functions of business enterprises. This paper attempts to identify and analyze the those factors which help privatization to affect the performance and functions of listed firms in Iran’s stock market. Findings indicate that privatization is effective in promoting nominal performance and nominal functions of firms, but it cannot lead to the development of their actual performance and business functions. Besides, findings show that the formation of corporate governance, dominant shareholder's status after privatization, the way management controls the quality, and the way privatization affects performance and functional changes of firms each plays a role.
Economic growth, development, planning, Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Purpose This is a national census of all worker cooperatives in the USA for 2017 implemented by the Democracy at Work Institute which is affiliated with the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives, the largest worker cooperative association in the USA. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Longitudinal survey with descriptive analysis of results. Findings The author identified 394 worker cooperatives and democratic workplaces in all areas of the country in fiscal year 2017 (though early tracking for 2018 shows at least 400 such businesses). While the typical worker cooperative is small (about nine workers and about $588,600 gross annual revenue) and either recently launched, or converted to the form, there are many notable examples of very large and/or long lasting businesses. Together they employ an estimated 6,734 workers and produce about $467m in revenue each year. The following analysis attempts to outline the basic geographic, structural, economic and demographic features of these enterprises. Research limitations/implications The author reached out to this list of businesses via e-mail and telephone contact between August and November 2018. This included both members of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives and non-members. The author asked participants to provide information based on their fiscal year 2017 performance. The survey asked similar questions to the prior year’s survey (e.g. total revenue, total assets, total wages, net income, total workers, total worker–owners, etc.), but also included some small changes in content, format and style. In total, 105 worker cooperatives responded and either fully or substantially completed the survey questions. All non-responsive firms were verified to be in business and operate as worker cooperatives in 2017 to the best of the author’s knowledge. Regardless of whether they responded, the author assigned all businesses an industry (NAICS) classification, foundational year and primary location based on basic internet research. This allowed the author to examine the larger universe when analyzing issues around the geography, age and industry of these enterprises. Additionally, internet research also allowed the author to add some other information about a portion of the non-responding worker cooperatives (e.g. number of workers, etc.) when such information was self-reported on their websites. Originality/value This is the only census of worker cooperatives done in the USA to the author’s knowledge.
Background and Objective: Considered appealing behavior for communication among other constructive types of behavior, leaders’ sense of humor affects employees’ feelings and behavior. This study aims to analyze the effect of leaders’ sense of humor on feelings of followers through the bureaucratic culture.
Methodology: This is an applied-descriptive survey, in which the statistical population included the employees working at Lorestan University. The stratified random sampling method was employed to select 145 individuals as the statistical sample. The data collection tool was a standard questionnaire, the reliability of which was confirmed through Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability tests. The questionnaire validity was confirmed through convergent validity and content validity tests by considering the opinions of experts who were acquainted with the research topic. Data analysis was performed in SPSS22 and AMOS22.
Findings: Leaders’ sense of humor has positive, significant effects on feelings of followers and the bureaucratic culture. Moreover, the bureaucratic culture facilitates the relationship between leaders’ sense of humor and feelings of followers.
Conclusion: Leaders’ sense of humor promotes laughter and other positive feelings in an organization. It can improve the communications and relationships between the members of an organization; therefore, growing this attitude can often result in constructive outcomes for managers and employees.
Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Hadi Baghbani, Alireza Tanhaee, Hamidreza Nadi
et al.
Background and Aim: Promoting passive defense culture among different classes of society, especially in military organizations, is an effective factor in improving the deterrent power of the country. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to identify the institutionalized mechanisms of passive defense culture among the Army duty personnel of Islamic Republic of Iran. Methodology: The study is applied in terms of purpose and has been conducted with qualitative approach and content analysis. Participants of this study were teachers, passive defense experts, as well as experts in human resource management in military units in Tehran, Iran. Purposeful snowball sampling method to theoretical saturation has been used in the current study. Findings: Based on the results of Metam interview analysis, the identified mechanisms for institutionalizing the culture of passive defense in the target community are classified into three cognitive, behavioral, and emotional categories. Conclusion: The integrated use of these three categories of mechanisms can raise awareness, positive tendency, and readiness to perform passive defense constructive behaviors among the Army duty personnel, and thus, these factors contribute to the institutionalization of the culture of passive defense.
Employee participation in management. Employee ownership. Industrial democracy. Works councils
Representative arrangements are widely employed in the governance of occupational pension funds, particularly in Australia where a sector of jointly employer/employee-sponsored ‘industry funds’ was established during the 1980s. The jointly governed industry funds are privately owned wealth-management businesses and have routinely outperformed the retirement-savings schemes run by the large listed for-profit providers. Seeking to understand why these examples of labourist ‘alternative organisations’ have outperformed more traditionally governed Australian wealth-management firms is the main purpose of this article.