Arménio Rego

Mission impossible? The paradoxes of stretch goal setting

Stretch goal setting is a process involving multiple and nested paradoxes. The paradoxical side of stretch is attractive because it holds great promise yet dangerous because it triggers processes that are hard to control. Paradoxes are not readily managed by assuming a linear relation between the here and now and the intended future perfect. Before adopting stretch goal setting, managers should thus be prepared for the tensions and contradictions created by nested or interwoven paradoxes. Achieving stretch goals can be as difficult for the managers seeking to direct the process as for designated delegates. While the increasing popularity of stretch goal setting is understandable, its unexpected consequences must be taken into account. The inadequate use of stretch goals can jeopardize the social sustainability of organizations as well as their societal support systems.

Building your self: a sensemaking approach to expatriates’ adjustment to ethical challenges

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to understand the behaviours described by expatriates (“what expatriates say they do”) when they are pressed for adjustment and, at the same time, they feel ethically challenged. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors interviewed 52 expatriates from the European Union working in Sub-Saharan Africa who were immersed in what was considered by them to be an ethically challenging context or situation while they were in the process of adjusting to their international assignment. The authors conducted a reflexive qualitative analysis between the data and existing literature. Findings - – The authors found that the feeling of moral discomfort that causes the perception of an ethical challenge is triggered by an event that contrasts with the expatriates’ notion of morals. After feeling ethically challenged, expatriates engage in a sensemaking process that is hinged in an “intended future identity”. Research limitations/implications - – The authors contribute to the literature by stressing the ethical dimension of adjustment. The authors complement the normative approaches to ethical decision making in international contexts. The research identifies a set of events that are considered as ethical challenges by business expatriates. Practical implications - – The research opens the possibility to anticipate and manage potential conflicts, thus minimizing the probability of expatriation failure. Early knowledge about an expatriates intended future identity can provide relevant information concerning the probable type of adjustment problems s/he will face. Originality/value - – The research combines two hitherto separate streams of literature – expatriate adjustment and ethical decision making in international contexts – to open the possibility of ethical adjustment. This is supported by a sensemaking process that is also grounded in future intentions, and not only in past experiences and present signals.

To the Victors Go the Spoils! Distributed Agencies, Inhumanities and the Case of Comrade Duch of the Khmer Rouge

Can men claim innocence of involvement in massive crimes due to their relative powerlessness to make events transpire otherwise? Should accountability be assigned to the very top level only? Do followers have not only material but also moral responsibilities as facilitators or supporters of bad or evil leadership (Kellerman, 2004)? No: we will argue that even lower-level participants are implicated in power relations and thus can be held responsible (Lukes, 1974). It is not that ‘lower level participants in organizations have power’, as Pfeffer (1992, p. 130) remarked. Clearly not, if we take the meaning of ‘have’ literally: power is not something that one can have, like a cough or a cold, so much as a relational condition. One is always in relations of power for they are inescapable. Power is a constitutive feature of social relations.

Why does performance management not perform

The purpose of this paper is to ask why poor performance management practices persist in Portugal, in the middle of claims to increase productivity.,An inductive micro-practice analysis is used to understand barriers to management practice that do not require massive institutional changes.,The practice of performance management in Portugal typically displays three weaknesses: (1) insufficient planning (2) process and integrity issues, and (3) a non-meritocratic logic.,The paper discusses the important topic of persistence of bad practices, showing how institutionalized patterns might be difficult to eradicate even they are suboptimal.,The authors identity key issues in the functioning of performance management, therefore helping managers in developing remedies to improve the quality of their practice.,The paper explains the persistence of bad management practice whose continuity hinders not only organizations’ effectiveness but also that of their members.

Brazilian managers’ ageism: a multiplex perspective

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this paper is to explore the Brazilian managers’ attitudes toward older workers, and how those attitudes explain HRM decisions in hypothetical scenarios. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nBrazilian managers (n=201) reported their attitudes toward older workers and their decisions in scenarios involving an older vs a younger applicant/worker. n n n n nFindings n n n n nIn spite of expressing positive attitudes toward older workers, a significant number of managers chose a younger one even when the older worker is described as more productive. To build a better understanding of how attitudes predict decisions, it is necessary to identify attitudinal profiles and the interplay between attitudinal dimensions, rather than simply studying each dimension separately. Attitudinal profiling also shows that some managers discriminate against younger workers, a finding, that is, ignored when (only) regressions are taken into account. The managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions relate with their age. Evidence does not support the double jeopardy effect against older women workers. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nThe sample is small. The scenarios cover a reduced number of HRM decisions. The data about attitudes and decisions were collected simultaneously from a single source. The findings may be influenced by idiosyncrasies of the context. Future studies should also consider real situations, not hypothetical ones. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nEfforts must be made (e.g. via training and development) to raise managers’ awareness about the consequences of ageism in organizations. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nEmpirical studies about managers’ perceptions/attitudes toward older workers are scarce. Studies in the Brazilian context are even scarcer.

Dogs in organizations

What roles do dogs play in organizational life and formal organizations? Dogs are mostly ignored by organization theory despite the existence of a rich literature on human–animal studies that helps theoretical extension in the direction of organization studies. We discuss why and to what extent dogs are important actors in the lives of organizations and discuss reasons that explain such relevance in functional and symbolic terms. Overall, we suggest that dogs can constitute another indicator of organizational diversity and explain why their presence in organizations is more than just a fad.

The optimism-pessimism ratio as predictor of employee creativity: the promise of duality

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this paper is to study if the employees’ optimism-pessimism ratio predicts their creativity. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nIn total, 134 employees reported their optimism and pessimism, and the respective supervisors described the employees’ creativity. n n n n nFindings n n n n nThe relationship between the optimism-pessimism ratio and creativity is curvilinear (inverted U-shaped); beyond a certain level of the optimism-pessimism ratio, the positive relationship between the ratio and creativity weakens, suggesting that the possible positive effects of (high) optimism may be weakened by a very low level of pessimism. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nBeing cross-sectional, the study examines neither the causal links between the optimism-pessimism ratio and creativity nor other plausible causal links. The study was carried out at a single moment and did not capture the dynamics that occur over the course of time involving changes in optimism/pessimism and creativity. Future studies may adopt longitudinal or quasi-experimental designs. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nManagers and organizations must consider that, even though positivity promotes creativity, some level of negativity may help positivity to produce creativity. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThis study suggests that scholars who want to study the antecedents of creativity (and innovation) must be cautious in focusing only on the positive or the negative sides of individuals’ characteristics, and rather they must explore the interplay between both poles. Individuals may experience both positive and negative states/traits (Smith et al., 2016), and this both/and approach may impel them to think divergently, to challenge the status quo and to propose “out the box” and useful ideas.

Speak! Paradoxical Effects of a Managerial Culture of ‘Speaking Up’: Paradoxical Effects of a ‘Speaking Up’ Culture

We explore the intrinsic ambiguity of speaking up in a multinational healthcare subsidiary. A culture change initiative, emphasising learning and agility through encouraging employees to speak up, gave rise to paradoxical effects. Some employees interpreted a managerial tool for improving effectiveness as an invitation to raise challenging points of difference rather than as something ‘beneficial for the organization’. We show that the process of introducing a culture that aims to encourage employees to speak up can produce tensions and contradictions that make various types of organizational paradoxes salient. Telling people to “Speak up!” may render paradoxical tensions salient and even foster a sense of low PsySafe.

As perceções de gestores e aposentados em relação uns aos outros: um estudo exploratório

This paper explores: (a) the attitudes of managers toward older workers; (b) the perceptions of retirees about their past experiences as employees. The attitudes of 14 managers were explored through semi-structured interviews. The perceptions of retirees were measured through 4 focus groups (with 6-8 retirees). The main findings are as follows: (a) managers, especially the older ones, recognize that older workers have positive characteristics (e.g., extensive knowledge and experience, wisdom, wide relationship network, organizational loyalty); (b) however, managers they (especially the younger ones) also have negative perceptions about older workers (e.g., older workers reject training, are less motivated to work). The retirees argue that: (a) they would like to have had more opportunities to continue to learn and improve their skills; (b) they felt more committed to the job at the end of their careers. Some of them also reveal that if that had been proposed to them, they would have continued to work beyond the typical retirement age. The study has several limitations, including the fact that convenience and small size samples have been used. In addition, (a) managers and retirees belonged to different organizations and (b) moderating variables, such as education, sector of activity or hierarchical level, were not considered. Future studies should include larger samples, explore managers-retired dyads, and include moderators. Preconceived ideas that managers have about older workers may have perverse effects on motivation and identification with the organization of those workers. With the increase of the retirement age, the effect of these biases intensifies. Measures to reduce these erroneous conceptions are necessary. Empirical studies on the perceptions/attitudes of managers and retirees toward each other are scarce, mainly in the Portuguese business context.

Atitudes perante os trabalhadores mais velhos e suas potenciais consequências: a perspetiva dos estudantes universitários

Procuramos compreender (a) se a estrutura penta-dimensional de um instrumento de medida das atitudes dos gestores perante os trabalhadores mais velhos desenvolvido por Rego, Vitoria, Cunha, e Tupinamba (2013) e replicada numa amostra de estudantes universitarios e (b) se essas atitudes ajudam a explicar as decisoes dos estudantes em cenarios similares aos dos apresentados aos gestores. A amostra envolveu 278 estudantes universitarios. Os principais resultados sao os seguintes: (a) a estrutura penta-dimensional obtida com gestores portugueses e brasileiros replica-se na amostra de estudantes; (b) apesar de os estudantes reconhecerem qualidades nos trabalhadores mais velhos, revelam inclinacao para praticas discriminatorias relativamente a esses trabalhadores, e essa inclinacao parece ser mais acentuada do que a identificada em gestores. Esta evidencia sugere haver necessidade de sensibilizar os futuros profissionais e lideres, ainda na universidade, para a natureza e as consequencias das atitudes perante os trabalhadores mais velhos.