Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 1993
The articles in this special issue “Law Without Justice” are reviewed. Although (like many other ... more The articles in this special issue “Law Without Justice” are reviewed. Although (like many other students of employee rights) the authors did not conceptualize rights adequately, they advanced understanding of employee rights by linking the analysis of concrete rights to the larger social context. Further, by directing attention to the processes of social construction which affect the relationship betweende jure andde facto rights, the articles help to fill an important gap in the existing literature. Some implications for research on employee rights (and applied social science more generally) driven by social issues rather than theories are explored.
Over the years, a number of scholars have questioned the merits of two core organization studies’... more Over the years, a number of scholars have questioned the merits of two core organization studies’ practices – null hypothesis statistical testing (NHST) and obsession with theory (OWT). I used neo-institutional organization theory to study the history of these two practices. I found that both may owe their core positions, at least as much or more, to their value for gaining legitimacy, as to substantive merit. Consequently, following the perspective of neo-institutional theory, it appears both may lack sufficient technical justification. Such a condition could account for some of our field’s leaders recently expressed concerns about our field’s slow progress.
Judging by our personal experiences and conversations with colleagues, at some point(s) in most e... more Judging by our personal experiences and conversations with colleagues, at some point(s) in most every introductory course in organizational behavior, class members challenge the instructor to demonstrate that what is being taught is more than common sense. Although there are undoubtedly a number of useful ways to deal with this challenge including recognizing that there may be an uncomfortably strong positive correlation between common sense and what we teach
The experimenters studied the relationships among academic achievement in graduate school, percei... more The experimenters studied the relationships among academic achievement in graduate school, perceived locus of control, and a relevant aptitude test. Grades in 15 individual courses and overall grade point average (GPA) were used as the criteria of academic success. Three I-E scores (total scores and ideological and personal control subscores) and the Admissions Test for Graduate Study in Business (ATGSB) scores of 50 entering MBA students were used as predictors. It was found that both the ATGSB and I-E scales accounted for significant and often complementary portions of variance in GPA and grades in individual courses. Each instrument predicted better in certain courses and the predictive power of each instrument tended to remain when influence of the other was controlled statistically. Analysis of achievement as a function of the two I-E dimensions revealed that personal control tended to be a better predictor of achievement than was ideological control. It was concluded that the locus of control might, be a useful predictor of academic success, but that no simple pattern exists. Rather, course content and such factors as teacher behavior may interact with perceived locus of control to determine academic achievement.
Samuel Culbert payed attention to his experience and made himself the consummate applied behavior... more Samuel Culbert payed attention to his experience and made himself the consummate applied behavioral scientist. He is an almost five-decade contributor of pathbreaking ideas, skilled in identifying management dysfunction and original in suggesting models of progressive organizational change. Combining a clinician's eye with system analytic, inductive thinking, he constructs mid-level theoretical frameworks aimed at influencing frontline practitioners along with academically housed students of change. Always "outside the box" challenging conventional wisdom and mainstream practice, his contributions have been both methodological and substantive. His body of work combines an intense humanism with critical thinking that advances the state of knowledge. This essay attempts to review the roots of his thinking, the essence of his work, and the muckraking advocacy stances he has taken. We see the progression of his thinking in his forthcoming book where he revises some of his previous assumptions about organizations, concluding that far more variables than previously
PurposeThis article assesses the ability of Boyer's (1990) four-function definition of schola... more PurposeThis article assesses the ability of Boyer's (1990) four-function definition of scholarship to address critiques of business schools. Boyer's definition of scholarship is presented as the foundation for a paradigmatic shift in higher education in business.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed this conceptual paper by considering information from three sources: 1) Ernest Boyer's Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, 2) articles by four well-known pundits of business education as well as critiques appearing in the Academy of Management Learning and Education Journal and 3) articles in which Boyer's work was the focal point of the article found by searching Google Scholar, two well-known education journals, a prominent database of education articles and the International Handbook of Higher Education (Forest and Altbach, 2007).FindingsA four-function framework based on Boyer's definition of scholarship is proposed to help improv...
This paper maintains that the work of BF Skinner has not been recognized in the administrative an... more This paper maintains that the work of BF Skinner has not been recognized in the administrative and management literature to the extent that it deserves. The work of Skinner is highly consistent with that of many widely accepted students of management, except that Skinner's work ...
Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Sep 10, 2009
As the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature has developed, it appears that a dominant... more As the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature has developed, it appears that a dominant paradigm has emerged. Both scholars who study CSR and those who write about its organizational application have largely converged on CSR as an organizational strategy issue. Viewing CSR as a matter of top-level strategy unwittingly links it to a particular conceptualization of organizational change-a top-down perspective. We suggest that the dominance of this traditional view of organizational change is limiting the study of CSR. Thus, we seek to increase awareness of an alternative model, one that complements the strategic view. Specifically, we describe a model of CSR organizational change that suggests two things. First we assert that significant change can be initiated at lower organizational levels as well as from the top. And second, we suggest that the change can be accomplished in small steps and involve only a portion of the organization, as opposed to an overarching organizational strategy. We present our employee-centered approach to CSR change as an addition to the traditional top-down view. Key words CSR. corporate social responsibility. employee-centered. grassroots. organizational change Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has received increasing attention in the past decade as evidenced by the special topic forum devoted to the topic in the Academy of Management Review (2007) and the current special issue of the Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal. As the CSR literature has developed, it appears that a dominant paradigm has emerged. Writers examining CSR from both scholarly and applied perspectives have largely converged on CSR as an organizational strategy issue. By this we mean that CSR initiatives are most often viewed as overarching organizational strategies
Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 1993
The articles in this special issue “Law Without Justice” are reviewed. Although (like many other ... more The articles in this special issue “Law Without Justice” are reviewed. Although (like many other students of employee rights) the authors did not conceptualize rights adequately, they advanced understanding of employee rights by linking the analysis of concrete rights to the larger social context. Further, by directing attention to the processes of social construction which affect the relationship betweende jure andde facto rights, the articles help to fill an important gap in the existing literature. Some implications for research on employee rights (and applied social science more generally) driven by social issues rather than theories are explored.
Over the years, a number of scholars have questioned the merits of two core organization studies’... more Over the years, a number of scholars have questioned the merits of two core organization studies’ practices – null hypothesis statistical testing (NHST) and obsession with theory (OWT). I used neo-institutional organization theory to study the history of these two practices. I found that both may owe their core positions, at least as much or more, to their value for gaining legitimacy, as to substantive merit. Consequently, following the perspective of neo-institutional theory, it appears both may lack sufficient technical justification. Such a condition could account for some of our field’s leaders recently expressed concerns about our field’s slow progress.
Judging by our personal experiences and conversations with colleagues, at some point(s) in most e... more Judging by our personal experiences and conversations with colleagues, at some point(s) in most every introductory course in organizational behavior, class members challenge the instructor to demonstrate that what is being taught is more than common sense. Although there are undoubtedly a number of useful ways to deal with this challenge including recognizing that there may be an uncomfortably strong positive correlation between common sense and what we teach
The experimenters studied the relationships among academic achievement in graduate school, percei... more The experimenters studied the relationships among academic achievement in graduate school, perceived locus of control, and a relevant aptitude test. Grades in 15 individual courses and overall grade point average (GPA) were used as the criteria of academic success. Three I-E scores (total scores and ideological and personal control subscores) and the Admissions Test for Graduate Study in Business (ATGSB) scores of 50 entering MBA students were used as predictors. It was found that both the ATGSB and I-E scales accounted for significant and often complementary portions of variance in GPA and grades in individual courses. Each instrument predicted better in certain courses and the predictive power of each instrument tended to remain when influence of the other was controlled statistically. Analysis of achievement as a function of the two I-E dimensions revealed that personal control tended to be a better predictor of achievement than was ideological control. It was concluded that the locus of control might, be a useful predictor of academic success, but that no simple pattern exists. Rather, course content and such factors as teacher behavior may interact with perceived locus of control to determine academic achievement.
Samuel Culbert payed attention to his experience and made himself the consummate applied behavior... more Samuel Culbert payed attention to his experience and made himself the consummate applied behavioral scientist. He is an almost five-decade contributor of pathbreaking ideas, skilled in identifying management dysfunction and original in suggesting models of progressive organizational change. Combining a clinician's eye with system analytic, inductive thinking, he constructs mid-level theoretical frameworks aimed at influencing frontline practitioners along with academically housed students of change. Always "outside the box" challenging conventional wisdom and mainstream practice, his contributions have been both methodological and substantive. His body of work combines an intense humanism with critical thinking that advances the state of knowledge. This essay attempts to review the roots of his thinking, the essence of his work, and the muckraking advocacy stances he has taken. We see the progression of his thinking in his forthcoming book where he revises some of his previous assumptions about organizations, concluding that far more variables than previously
PurposeThis article assesses the ability of Boyer's (1990) four-function definition of schola... more PurposeThis article assesses the ability of Boyer's (1990) four-function definition of scholarship to address critiques of business schools. Boyer's definition of scholarship is presented as the foundation for a paradigmatic shift in higher education in business.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed this conceptual paper by considering information from three sources: 1) Ernest Boyer's Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, 2) articles by four well-known pundits of business education as well as critiques appearing in the Academy of Management Learning and Education Journal and 3) articles in which Boyer's work was the focal point of the article found by searching Google Scholar, two well-known education journals, a prominent database of education articles and the International Handbook of Higher Education (Forest and Altbach, 2007).FindingsA four-function framework based on Boyer's definition of scholarship is proposed to help improv...
This paper maintains that the work of BF Skinner has not been recognized in the administrative an... more This paper maintains that the work of BF Skinner has not been recognized in the administrative and management literature to the extent that it deserves. The work of Skinner is highly consistent with that of many widely accepted students of management, except that Skinner's work ...
Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Sep 10, 2009
As the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature has developed, it appears that a dominant... more As the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature has developed, it appears that a dominant paradigm has emerged. Both scholars who study CSR and those who write about its organizational application have largely converged on CSR as an organizational strategy issue. Viewing CSR as a matter of top-level strategy unwittingly links it to a particular conceptualization of organizational change-a top-down perspective. We suggest that the dominance of this traditional view of organizational change is limiting the study of CSR. Thus, we seek to increase awareness of an alternative model, one that complements the strategic view. Specifically, we describe a model of CSR organizational change that suggests two things. First we assert that significant change can be initiated at lower organizational levels as well as from the top. And second, we suggest that the change can be accomplished in small steps and involve only a portion of the organization, as opposed to an overarching organizational strategy. We present our employee-centered approach to CSR change as an addition to the traditional top-down view. Key words CSR. corporate social responsibility. employee-centered. grassroots. organizational change Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has received increasing attention in the past decade as evidenced by the special topic forum devoted to the topic in the Academy of Management Review (2007) and the current special issue of the Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal. As the CSR literature has developed, it appears that a dominant paradigm has emerged. Writers examining CSR from both scholarly and applied perspectives have largely converged on CSR as an organizational strategy issue. By this we mean that CSR initiatives are most often viewed as overarching organizational strategies
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Papers by Walter Nord