Arthur Rubens

Entrepreneurship and Spirituality: A Comparative Analysis of Entrepreneurs’ Motivation

Abstract This article discusses a research study conducted to explore the relationship between entrepreneurs’ values, definitions of success, economic stability, demographic characteristics, and their joy at work through three stated hypotheses. For the study, we used a convenience sample of 280 entrepreneurs who responded to a 17-question survey. Utilizing the respondents’ definition of success, we found two different groups of entrepreneurs: one that was labeled ‘Cash is King’—defining success in relation to financial goals—and another that was labeled ‘Make me Whole’—defining success in relation to their own (Jungian) individuation process. The results of the study showed significant differences between the groups based on their values, behaviors and their experiences of joy at work. However, we found no significant differences between the groups relating to various demographic variables. In addition, there was no difference between the groups based on their economic stability, even though the ‘Cash is King’ group was more financially motivated than the ‘Make me Whole’ group. The study supports previous research in the field of “spirituality and work” and introduces a new model for the entrepreneurship field. The article concludes with implications for future studies to provide a better understanding of the behaviors and values of entrepreneurs based on their definition of success.

Individual Executive Characteristics: Explaining the Divergence Between Perceptual and Financial Measures in Nonprofit Organizations

Using survey data collected from chief executives of nonprofit organizations and financial performance information, the current study examined the influence of the individual chief executive characteristics on their perception of organization performance. The study found that executives with internal Locus of Control, high collectivism values, and analytical decision styles have greater convergence between their perceptions of performance and a financial measure. The study findings also offer support for existing theories that suggest executive cognitions play a significant role in filtering information, ultimately influencing the accuracy of perceptions and the effectiveness of strategic choices.

Management support organizations and university partnership in nonprofit education, training and consultation

Abstract Over the last decade there has been a tremendous growth in the nonprofit sector. Local community centers and foundations are developing Leadership Institutes to educate and assist the burgeoning nonprofit sectors needs for education and consultation. Universities and colleges are also responding to the call for nonprofit education. Since 1990 there has been a 300% growth in universities offering concentrations in nonprofit education. This paper documents how Florida Gulf Coast University, the nation’s newest university, partnered with the Center for Leadership of the local community foundation to conduct a needs assessment of demand for graduate education, training, and consultation in the area of nonprofit management. The partnership began with three focus groups of key administrative personnel from local nonprofit organizations. The survey documented a preponderance of interest in marketing, fund raising and strategic planning across all agencies, regardless of size. Smaller agencies, with budgets of less than

Is there a transatlantic divide

500,000 (52% of the sample) tended to be primarily interested in education, training, and consultation activities involving fund raising and marketing. Comparatively larger agencies tended to be interested in assistance with computer technology, legal and ethical issues, and cooperation among nonprofit organizations. The survey also indicated that that was a high interest among agency staff and board members for a nonprofit management track within an academic degree program or a graduate certificate program in nonprofit management.

A Process for Development and Validation of a Customized Scale to Assess Work Environment in Government Organizations A Mixed Method Approach

Purpose – Drucker has often been criticized for his pejorative interpretation of business ethics and the use of the term “casuistry”. This paper aims to show that Drucker was just the opposite of unethical in his viewpoint regarding the behavior of managers and organizations, and that in fact much of his writings pointed to discourse‐ethics‐universalism and away from casuistic particularism. Specifically, the paper seeks to analyze and contrast the ways in which US and European institutions take action (a “transatlantic divide”) when management and society eventually reposition their stance on ethics, as forecast by Drucker.Design/methodology/approach – This is a comparative study emphasizing the main day‐to‐day perspectives of ethical issues in businesses and how they are handled in the USA and in Europe. This is complemented by references to what Druckers position would be on those issues and how he would have shown that “good ethics” serves to ensure that entrepreneurial energies end up by serving soc...

Mentoring in Healthcare Organizations: Implications for Female Healthcare Managers

This study developed and tested a survey instrument to evaluate work environment in a government organization. A three-phase process, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, is presented for questionnaire development. The instrument measures the workplace domains of satisfaction with workload, communication with coworkers, satisfaction with manager, satisfaction with top management, esprit de corps, and satisfaction with job training.

Economic growth and welfare: How Foreign Direct Investment contributes to improving social order in less developed countries

Although the already large number of women in the healthcare field and the demand for healthcare administrators are expected to grow into the next millennium, there are comparatively few women in healthcare management. Mentoring programs can help guide women into administrative positions in healthcare organizations.

Hypertension in Community-Dwelling Elders from a Statewide Study: Implications for Nonpharmacologic Therapy

Abstract Does Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) promote development? And does it change social order? The attempt to answer these questions will always be controversial, because, first, the effects differ from context to context, and second, it is highly difficult to measure the (positive) spillovers of know-how and technology etc., as well as of contributions to enhancing social responsibility and improving the standards of living in the host country. The outcome will very much depend on how state governments, international bodies, the business world and non-governmental organizations collaborate. Likewise, interdisciplinary collaboration is required to research the issue, between well-trained economists, investment theory specialists, sociologists and ethicists. For this, our article combines a large number of arguments on market and investment theory, business ethics, John H. Dunning’s eclectic paradigm, etc. It examines whether there is practical evidence to support the assumption that doing business through FDI improves social conditions in less developed countries, and whether the logic for this to happen is rooted in ethical theory. The article contributes to insights from the appropriate sub-stream of the development, FDI and poverty/bottom of the pyramid literature, and to highlighting which trends should be followed in academic research. However, there are limitations to the article, which lie with the limitations of ethics frameworks, as these are often only constructed based on certain moral appeal, and only very few of them examine the incentive compatibility of such constructs.

Learning style preferences of public health students

This study used multivariate analysis to determine the sociodemographic variables that predict whether hypertensive elders who are aware of their disease deliberately make lifestyle modifications aimed at controlling their hypertension. The data are from the 1990 Panel Study of Older South Carolinians (n = 6,473). The researchers performed five separate logistic regressions, each to predict the odds that the elders made specific lifestyle changes to reduce their hypertension. The dependent variable in the first regression was 1 = quit smoking to reduce hypertension and 0 = did not quit smoking to reduce hypertension. Changing diet, exercising, taking medication, and using stress management techniques were the dependent variables in the second, third, fourth, and fifth regressions, respectively. Significant determinants included age, gender, marital status, socioeconomic status, previous medical history, and social participation. This paper discussed implications for prevention programs.