Masoud Hemmasi

Statistical Power in Contemporary Management Research

The article discusses statistical power with respect to contemporary management studies. A study is looked at which assesses statistical power in a population of management studies. The main codete...

Importance‐Satisfaction Analysis: A Diagnostic Tool for Organizational Change

Develops and presents Importance-Satisfaction Analysis as a simple and highly pragmatic organizational diagnostic tool for both managers and consultants. Specifically, the importance-performance framework presented in the marketing literature has been adapted for application in the management of human resource by changing the models external/strategic (the consumer and the product) orientation to an internal/operational (the employee and the job) focus. Uses data from a major national laboratory to illustrate step-by-step application of this methodology. Discusses practical advantages of the framework and implications for managers and consultants. Simplicity and ease of application, adaptability to various data collection techniques (questionnaires, interviews, group analysis, etc.), early identification of areas requiring action, priority-based resource allocation implications, and modest cost are a few of the virtues of this managerial/consulting tool.

An empirically-derived multidimensional measure of expatriate success: reconciling the discord

This paper examines the discord surrounding how expatriate success, or effectiveness, is defined. We review the many ways that success has been conceptualized and then seek to reconcile these differences by presenting a multidimensional measure of success, based on data collected from 118 expatriate respondents worldwide. A series of factor analyses, along with reliability and item analyses yielded nine measurement scales which included cultural adjustment, work-related adjustment, career development, HQ-subsidiary coordination, assignment completion, professional/skill development, shaping and controlling the subsidiary, satisfaction and overall assignment effectiveness. The process by which these scales were developed is described in the paper and all items and scale reliabilities are presented.

Correlates of Pay and Benefit Satisfaction: The Unique Case of Public University Faculty

The pay and benefit satisfaction of public university faculty is examined in two phases. In the first phase, a model containing only demographic correlates is used to predict satisfaction. In the second phase, the demographic variables are coupled with a series of attitudinal variables. For compensation satisfaction, pay level was the primary predictive variable. In addition, dummy variables for several academic disciplines, as well as a number of the attitudinal variables, were also significant. For satisfaction with indirect benefits, perceptual variables were the primary predictors. Implications for the management of public sector university faculty and methodological issues are discussed.

Determinants of faculty voting behavior in union representation elections: A multivariate model

A model of faculty unionism that integrates a diverse set of factors representing various perspectives on voting behavior in unionization drives was developed. This model was then tested using data obtained from faculty in three institutions of higher education simultaneously undergoing collective bargaining elections. The study results suggest that work context, socio-political beliefs, general attitudes toward unions, perceptions of union instrumentality at one’s own workplace, and pay are strong determinants of faculty voting behavior. Union instrumentality perception was the single largest determinant of the vote. The model had strong predictive power.

Cultural distance and expatriate adjustment revisited

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between cultural distance and cross-cultural adjustment. The authors address four hypotheses regarding this relationship: the Cultural Distance Hypothesis; the Cultural Distance Paradox; the Null Hypothesis; and the Asymmetry Hypothesis, in an effort to reconcile the disparities found in the literature. Specifically, portions of the extant literature support a positive relationship, while others support the opposite. There is also some evidence that this relationship may vary depending on the direction of expatriate transfer. Finally, some of the research has failed to support any significant relationship between cultural distance and adjustment. Design/methodology/approach - Survey data were collected from 125 expatriates (117 expatriates and eight repatriates), representing 36 nationalities and on assignment in 32 different countries. Multiple regression analyses were used to regress cultural distance on both general and work-related adjustment. Cultural distance was first operationalized as a composite of the scores on Hofstedes cultural dimensions. Subsequently, distances for each of the dimensions were entered into the regression models. Findings - The authors concur with the Cultural Distance Paradox that greater differences in individualism between home and host cultures facilitates work adjustment. Findings also support the Asymmetry Hypothesis that travel from individualistic societies to more collectivist ones results in greater adjustment than does travel in the opposite direction. Practical implications - Based on the Cultural Distance Paradox, firms may be well-advised to direct their expatriate training efforts toward those assignments where the home and host cultures are presumably similar, as there may be a tendency to take adjustment for granted and therefore forgo cross-cultural training. Similar efforts should be made to ease transfers to locations where the culture is more individualistic than that of the parent country. Originality/value - Rather than fixate on one set of findings from the literature, this study considers all four of the possible relationships between cultural distance and adjustment, as found or suggested in previous research. This comprehensive approach should advance our understanding of cultural distance as a complex construct, with a role that cannot be consistently defined across all situations. This represents a departure from the need to assign static roles to variables that may be dynamic in nature.

Individual profiles as predictors of expatriate effectiveness

Purpose – This paper aims to assess the relationship between expatriate personality and effectiveness on overseas assignments.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 118 expatriates who were currently on assignments overseas or had been on an assignment in the past.Findings – Results of multiple regression analysis show expatriate personality traits to be significant predictors of two of the effectiveness measured used. Extraversion, emotional stability, and openness have a significant, positive impact on expatriate adjustment, and agreeableness is significant and positively associate with expatriate job performance.Practical implications – Organizations may be well‐served to consider expatriate personality as an important criterion for selection for overseas assignments, as successful assignments reflect on the organization in a number of ways and thus contribute to the companys global competitiveness.Originality/value – Extant research on the connection between expatriate personal...

A comparison of the performance, behaviors, and analysis strategies of MBA versus BBA students in a simulation environment

demand for MBA graduates may be waning. Although the argument that the supply of MBAs will match demand by the late 1980s/ early 1990s provides one legitimate rationale for the diminishing demand for MBA graduates (Byrne, 1986; Bivens, 1984), MBA programs have increasingly come under fire for a variety of other reasons. One frequently cited criticism is that MBA graduates are poorly qualified, owing to the lack of rigor in some MBA programs-those programs that opened in the 1970s to meet the increasing student demand for the degree (Swartz, 1985: 33; Waldrop, 1986: 65). Another suggested shortcoming of MBA programs is that the training creates arrogant, overly aggressive, opportunistic individuals that lack the skill or desire to be team