Cecil Pearson

The Turnover Process in Organizations: An Exploration of the Role of Met-Unmet Expectations

An assessment of the turnover process was undertaken with subjects of railway track maintenance crews. The differences between the responses of workers who left the crews and others who retained membership for the study were partially explained by the met-unmet expectations framework, and there was some evidence to suggest a variety of work related factors are a source of employee perceptions. However, to obtain a fuller understanding of the processes of employee reactions further theoretical articulation is required.

Structural Properties, Work Practices, and Control in Asian Businesses: Some Evidence from Singapore and Malaysia

This study explored the level of adoption of Western style management practices in two South East Asian communities. A sample of 203 managers from Malaysian and Singaporean organizations responded to a survey that was designed to capture demographic as well as organizational data in terms of structural dimensions, and employed work setting processes and practices. A strong inference of the findings is that Western assumptions about managerial ideology were not fully endorsed in the study organizations. These findings, which are discussed, were interpreted in conjunction with contributions from Asian managers. The approach outlined in this paper demonstrates the value of qualitative and quantitative procedures for interpreting the results of cross-cultural studies.

The Importance of Job Content and Social Information on Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction: A Study in Australian and Malaysian Nursing Contexts

An emerging challenge for health-care administrators is how to ensure harmony in a multicultural workforce. This is a cross-cultural study with 48 Australian and 90 Malaysian nurses. Using a path analytic approach, it was shown that the perceived content and context work properties contributed differently to job satisfaction. Specifically, for the Australian nurses, the task content dimensions were significant determinants of job satisfaction, while only the perceived information cues substantially contributed to the affective responses of the Malaysian nurses. Both types of workplace attributes influenced the nurses organizational commitment. The implications for human resource practices in the increasingly important evolving health-care delivery industry are discussed.

Managerial work roles in Asia: An empirical study of Mintzberg's role formulation in four Asian countries

In an increasingly competitive global environment, impacted by a myriad of social, economic and technological forces, managerial roles have, over the past two decades, undergone dramatic transformation. Indeed, managers around the world are struggling to redefine their roles and responsibilities against a backdrop of the classic ten roles of managers espoused by Mintzberg in the 1970s, which were based on research in the US context. Yet these traditional roles are still widely taught in universities and training programs, and particularly all over Asia with the spread of Western business education literature. The relevance of the Mintzberg formulation in the Asian context was the aim of this four country study. The study reports the importance and degree of use of the ten Mintzberg managerial roles in the contemporary Asian context. The findings suggest although the roles overlap considerably, they are acted out in a very different manner. Implications for the findings in an international market arena are discussed.

Chinese cultural values and the Asian meltdown

Despite the continuing interest in a concern for relationships between culture, management values and economic activity, there is a lack of empirical evidence about these relationships during the unprecedented economic transformations in Asian nations in the 1990s. This study evaluated variations in values that tapped concerns fundamental to the Chinese world view during the period of the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Data were provided by ethnic Chinese managers from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore prior to and after the meltdown. The study findings demonstrate a number of the values changed significantly, which questions assumptions of the longevity of these values, which were identified in earlier periods of relative economic stability. These findings suggest the emergence of distinct managerial styles in each country, rather than the continuance of more common “Asian” or a Chinese way of doing business.

Reducing learning barriers amongst international students: A longitudinal developmental study

ConclusionA substantial conclusion from this study is that an appropriate learning goal orientation program can help university students achieve better grades. The assumption that university students naturally possess competencies that will enable them to be successful in their tertiary studies is cast into doubt by the evidence of this study. The study also reveals that the potential for reducing failure because of cultural barriers, inappropriate study methods or language difficulties can be facilitated with developmental or transitional programs. By exposing students to distinct approaches for studying and learning in an environment where they did not feel humiliated, but were encouraged to take greater self responsibility, and where they were able to develop a range of learning strategies, the participants were able to enhance their personal competencies.The evidence of this study should encourage Australian universities to focus on the concerns of their international students. Australian universities acquire considerable tangible and intangible benefits from these students. Yet it is widely recognised that these customers experience considerable difficulties with their studies. Although a part of the problem is embedded in cultural assumptions about learning, it is also acknowledged that many international students have ongoing problems at Australian universities because of inadequate or inappropriate oral, reading and writing communication skills. Although there is a great deal of information available to Australian university administrators and academics about these barriers to learning, it appears greater understanding and knowledge is required as in most cases the attempts to reduce the problem have been, at best, ad hoc. The intervention strategy outlined in this paper provides a more consistent approach to a significant growing challenge for all management levels in Australian tertiary institutions.

Comparison of managerial work goals among Bruneian, Malaysian and Singaporean managers

A need to facilitate effective international business encounters, which are underpinned by the personal values of managers, has led to significant pragmatic interest in understanding work goals cross‐culturally. This study examines the work goals of 468 managers from the three industrializing nations of Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. The results reveal some consensuses as well as differences in managerial work goals. The three dominant work goals included opportunity to learn, interesting work and good match with abilities and experience. Implications for the findings are discussed.

Work goals and societal value orientations of senior Indian managers – An empirical analysis

Outlines the impact of economic reform in India at the organisational level by exploring relationships between the societal priorities of the new reform context and espoused work goal priorities of very senior Indian managers in key economic sectors. The paper attempts to capture the shift in work goals of senior managers during the period of current reform. Empirical evidence gathered through a survey of 421 senior Indian managers sponsored by the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, forms the basis of this paper. The empirical analysis points to an increasing convergence in reform values amongst senior managers, on the one hand, while demonstrating an absence of wider social vision, on the other.

Cross‐cultural value sets of Asian managers: The comparative cases of Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore

An important debate in the field of cross-cultural management research has been the universality of managerial values. One view is that exposure to a capitalistic system, technology and industrialization will shape a common set of managerial values, while another is that underlying values and beliefs, which are moulded by cultural-social factors, will ensure the development of diverse expectations and work attitudes. In this paper are reported values indigenous to Chinese culture of 444 managers who were employed in Hong Kong, Malaysian and Singaporean organizations. The findings demonstrate that within a business ideology, which was influenced by political intervention, unique sets of managerial values were espoused. Implications for human resources management practices in the aftermath of the Asian financial meltdown are discussed.

Ethical perceptions of Asian managers: evidence of trends in six divergent national contexts

Global link building is having a substantial impact in every sphere of Asian managerial activity. The economic upheavals of the Asian ?nancial crisis have cast a long shadow, and ethical clarity has become a social issue. For instance, corporate performance in terms of long-term survival, growth and global competency is seen to depend to a considerable extent upon the ethical infrastructur of managers and emerging managerial culture in Asia. One ?eld in which Asian managers and their managerial practices are often considered weak is the area of ethical clarity. Corporate managerial leaders in Asia need to develop new responses to the ethical complexities arising out of the increasing global interfaces. In spite of a growing awareness of the importance of ethical centrality in an intensely competitive international business arena, very little empirical work has been conducted to strengthen the relevant management literatures. The purpose of the research reported in this paper was to examine the perceptions of ethical probity among managers in six Asian countries. The results of the study indicate interesting convergences and divergences across countries and organisational demographies. The ?ndings lead to observations of the apparent similarities of ethical conceptualisation in global, societal and often in the organisational arena while revealing noticeable divergences in the domain of individual ethical perceptions.