Terri R. Lituchy

Occupational mental health: a study of work-related depression among nurses in the Caribbean

This study addresses issues of occupational mental health among nurses in the Caribbean. A linear model linking role, work and social factors, stress, burnout, depression, absenteeism and turnover intention guides the research. Data were collected from 119 nurses working for major hospitals located in St. Vincent and Trinidad & Tobago using a field survey. Psychometrically sound instruments with proven cross-cultural validity were utilized in the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and path analysis were used to analyze the data. The results indicated fairly strong support for the proposed model which is tested for the first time among a Caribbean population. Role conflict, role overload and social support predicted stress, which along with social support predicted burnout. Burnout was the sole predictor of depression which in turn predicted both absenteeism and turnover intention. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.

A qualitative analysis of leadership and quality improvement

Abstract The purpose of this study was to perform a qualitative, inductively-oriented investigation of leadership and quality improvement (QI) efforts. This approach was chosen given that there is relatively little evidence regarding the nature of effective leadership as organizations pursue QI, potential differences across managerial levels, and the persistence of leadership as QI efforts evolve. Our qualitative analyses involved the identification of relevant themes or categorical schemes, data collection in an open and somewhat unstructured manner, and theory development in line with the data collected. Based on the analyses, we develop a proposed model of alternative paths of leadership and managerial commitment in association with a QI process. One path involves continuing commitment toward QI efforts and results in a culture shift. In contrast, a second path involves wavering commitment and could lead to negative outcomes such as cynicism about the possibility of organizational change. In sum, this study demonstrates the potential value of pursuing an inductive approach in leadership research.

Exploring career‐life success and family social support of successful women in Canada, Argentina and Mexico

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine career‐life issues of successful women in the Americas.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 30 interviews were conducted with successful women in Canada, Argentina and Mexico. Themes were pulled from the interview transcripts for each country, analyzed and then compared across countries, looking at universalities and differences of experiences.Findings – The women in all three countries conveyed more subjective measures of career success, such as contributing to society and learning in their work, with Canada and Mexico particularly emphasizing receiving recognition as a hallmark of career success.Practical implications – This research provides insight into the experiences of successful women in the Americas, which can inform the career development of women in business.Originality/value – This research contributes to the literature on womens careers, highlighting successful womens experiences across cultures and in an under‐researched area: Latin Ame...

Culture and Ethics Management Whistle-blowing and Internal Reporting within a NAFTA Country Context

This article examines the relation of culture to the propensity for, and potential effectiveness of, both internal reporting and whistle-blowing as ethics management tools within a North American context. Samples from a total of 10 regions in the US, Canada and Mexico increased the accuracy and meaningfulness of the findings. Hofstedes cultural dimensions uncertainty avoidance and power distance had the most consistent and significant relationship to propensity for both whistle-blowing and internal reporting, while collectivism was not found to be significantly related to either ethics management tool. Managers who better understand the cultural links to ethics management are more likely to craft the most effective organizational ethics strategies. Researchers can gain from increased insight, allowing departure from assumptions to an empirically based examination of how cultural dimensions might influence ethics management instruments.

Career success and satisfaction: a comparative study in nine countries

Purpose – This project aims to examine levels of career and life satisfaction among successful women in nine countries in the Americas.Design/methodology/approach – A structured survey and in‐depth interviews were used, and a variety of occupations, demographics, and personality characteristics assessed – 1,146 successful women from nine countries in the USA responded the survey: 105 from Argentina, 210 from Brazil, 199 from Canada, 84 from Chile, 232 from Mexico, 126 from the USA, and 190 from three countries in the West Indies (Barbados, Jamaica, SVG).Findings – Results show no differences in satisfaction based on occupation or country and most demographic variables investigated did not have a significant relationship with satisfaction. Age had a small, significant, relationship, with satisfaction increasing with age; married women were significantly more satisfied than single women. Higher scores on self efficacy and need for achievement, and a greater internal locus of control were all related to high...

The implementation of total quality management in Canada and Mexico: a case study

Total quality management (TQM) gained its popularity during the last decade and continues to have a profound impact on business strategies today. Using the case method, this research examines the influence of national culture on the successful or unsuccessful implementation of TQM in Canada and Mexico. Focused interviews are used to compare the TQM implementation process in two plants in Canada and Mexico. As hypothesized, the qualitative results suggest that a firm in a collectivistic culture, such as Mexico, is more successful at implementing TQM than a firm in an individualistic culture, such as Canada. This is because the collectivistic culture has more TQM beliefs and values than the individualistic culture. The implications of these findings for organizations in collectivistic and individualistic cultures are discussed.

Cultural Influences in Negotiations : A Four Country Comparative Analysis

Empirical work systematically comparing variations across a range of countries is scarce. A comprehensive framework having the potential to yield comparable information across countries on 12 negotiating tendencies was proposed more than 20 years ago by Weiss and Stripp; however, the framework was never operationalized or empirically tested. A review of the negotiation and cross cultural research that have accumulated over the last two decades led to refinements in the definition of the dimensions in the framework. We operationalized four dimensions in the Negotiation Orientations Framework and developed the Negotiation Orientations Inventory (NOI) to assess individual orientations on those four dimensions. Data were collected from a sample of 1000 business people and university students with business experience from Finland, Mexico, Turkey, and the United States. Results are presented and further scale development is discussed. Findings establish the utility of the dimensions in the framework in making comparisons between the four countries.

Successful women of the Americas: the same or different?

Purpose – The intent of this cross‐national research is to study the personal and cultural characteristics of successful professional women. High‐achieving women may share certain personal characteristics, beliefs, and experiences, regardless of the countries in which they live. However, every individual is socialized within a particular national culture, and may be expected to share certain values and expectations with other members of that culture.Design/methodology/approach – Over 1,100 professionally “successful women” (including high‐level managers, entrepreneurs, academics, government personnel, and professionals) and 531 undergraduate business students in nine countries – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the USA and the West Indies (Barbados, Jamaica, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines) completed surveys containing two sets of variables: national/cultural (collectivism/individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance) and personal (self‐efficacy, locus of control, need for achievement).Fi...

Job Burnout among Airline Employees in Japan A Study of the Buffering Effects of Absence and Supervisory Support

The present study focuses on the cultural meaning and effectiveness of coping strategies on the process of burnout among Japanese employees in the airline industry. The role of self-applied and other-applied strategies for coping with burnout is investigated. Voluntary absence and supervisory support were chosen as the self- and other-applied coping mechanisms because of their theoretical and contextual relevance. The study was guided by the restorative model of absence. A sequential model of burnout with emotional exhaustion leading to both depersonalization and diminished personal accomplishment was used to study the moderating effects of coping mechanisms. Data were collected from 90 airline service employees working in Tokyo, Japan. Existing instruments of measurement with appropriate translations were used. Absence was found to moderate the relationship between emotional exhaustion and diminished personal accomplishment, while supervisory support was found to moderate the relationship between emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The theoretical implications of differential moderating effects in a burnout episode as well as its practical implications for the Japanese workplace are discussed.

Mentoring experiences of successful women across the Americas

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare womens mentoring experience in nine countries within the Americas, and to explore linkages between personal characteristics, mentoring practices, mentoring functions, and consequences of being mentee.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 1,146 successful women are questioned about their mentoring experiences as a mentee: 105 from Argentina, 210 from Brazil, 199 from Canada, 84 from Chile, 232 from Mexico, 126 from the USA, and 190 from three countries in the West Indies (Barbados, Jamaica, and St Vincent).Findings – Most of the women have more than one mentor. Across all countries mentoring practices are more strongly linked to career mentoring function while the age and gender of the mentor are more strongly linked to psychosocial mentoring. Mentoring from the perspective of mentee has the same directional relationship with situational and individual variables, but the significance of those relationships vary by country. A possible cultural difference...