Moshe Banai

Comparison of a multidimensional and a global measure of job insecurity: Predicting job attitudes and work behaviors

This paper examined the multidimensional formulation of job insecurity theory described by Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt in 1984. They held that job insecurity is multidimensional and is comprised of two principle threats, (1) threat to the job and (2) threat to job features. To date, there has been no empirical test comparing the predictive value of the separate dimensions of job insecurity on the outcome variables commitment, trust, and job search behavior. A total of 276 managers completed surveys of their job insecurity using both multidimensional and global measures of job insecurity. Regression analysis suggested that the job threat dimension better explains outcome attitudes and behaviors than the job features dimension. Further, contrary to earlier reports, the global measure of job insecurity explained more variance in two out of three outcome variables investigated here. Implications for job insecurity measurement and theory are discussed.

Would you trust your foreign manager? An empirical investigation

This study examines how similarity of nationality influences the interpersonal trust relationship between managers and their superiors in MNCs. Two groups were studied. The first group was composed of managers who shared the same nationality with their superior in a nationally homogeneous setting; the second group was composed of a nationally heterogeneous group of managers in that managers either did or did not share the same nationality as their superior. Similarity in nationality offered a mixed explanation for the trust between managers and their superiors. In nationally homogeneous settings, host-country nationals (HCNs) reported high levels of trust for their same-nationality superiors. In nationally heterogeneous MNC settings, however, trust between managers and their superiors was not different for managers and their same or different nationality superior. Implications for MNC staffing policy are discussed.

Alienation in state-owned and private companies in Russia

This study explores the level of alienation among Russian employees in state-owned and private business organizations over a period of 2 years. Based on the employment situation in Russia, employees in private companies were expected to be more alienated from their work than employees in state-owned companies. Survey data have been collected from 725 employees in five state-owned and three private Russian companies in 1994 and 1995. The results indicate that employees in private companies are more alienated than their counterparts in state-owned companies. Moreover, while the level of personal alienation has not changed over the 2-year period, social alienation has become more prevalent. It is concluded that as opposed to social alienation, which tends to change with a transition in the political and economic systems, Western style personal alienation is a steady measure of individuals attitude towards life that hardly changes in reaction to environmental changes. Logistic Regression analysis revealed Self-Estrangement to be more prevalent among employees in private companies than among employees in state-owned companies. Implications for research and practitioners are discussed.

Leadership in Self-Managing Organizations: Orpheus and a Date Plantation

Executive Summary Self-managing teams have become a widespread and well-accepted practice that presages an evolution toward fully self-managing organizations. This will have a profound impact on our understanding of leadership and the leaders role in organizations. This article looks at two cases where self-management is not just a matter of team behavior but of organizational behavior with a focus on how leadership is practiced and how it is different from conventional organizations. Lessons learned and its appropriateness to firm governance, generally, are discussed.

A Test of Control – Alienation Theory Among Cuban Workers

This study tests the relationships between control mechanisms such as leadership, job design, performance appraisal, and workers’ alienation in Cuba. Beyond internal Cuban economic data or external intelligence reports, limited evidence has appeared in Western business journals on management practices and worker alienation in Cuba. The present research examines the responses of 327 workers who were surveyed anonymously. The results suggest that Western management control mechanisms such as leadership and job design have the potential of reducing alienation, while a worker’s job performance appraisal does not influence alienation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Knowledge, skills and personality of the effective business consultant

Purpose – The purpose of this paper to describe the effective business consultants most desirable characteristics.Design/methodology/approach – Development of propositions based on a review of the literature, anecdotal reports and the experience of the authors.Findings – The effective business consultant should possess functional knowledge as well as knowledge of an industry, communication and analytical skills, creativity, strategic and tactical leadership abilities, and a set of personality traits that includes emotional stability, intellect, integrity and openness and agreeableness.Practical implications – HR departments and training units in consulting firms may use the profile of the effective consultant as a tool in their selection and training procedures, as well as in matching consultants with clients. Consulting services clients may use the profile of the effective consultant to identify effective consulting service providers. Consultants may use the recommendations as a source for individual gr...

From Comparative Management to Supranational Management

This study reviews Jean Boddewyns contribution to research in comparative management that includes a definition and framing of the field and the formulation of three major research questions: What should be the unit of analysis in comparative management studies, what variables should be measured and compared, and what should be the purpose of the measurements and the studies in general? His early theoretical and empirical answers to these questions are compared with the state of research in this field today. Proposals are made for further refinements of the questions and new methodologies for seeking answers.