W. Jack Duncan

Humor and Work: Applications of Joking Behavior to Management

This review focuses on three fundamental aspects of humor and work. First, we review accepted theories of humor and their implications for the field of management. Second, we review and summarize the research on humor in management and related areas of behavioral science. Third, we provide a specific application of the importance of humor and work with an examination of the legal and arbitral aspects of humor as it relates to employee relations. This review concludes that even though the interest in humor by management has been sporadic, joking behavior remains a pervasive and important topic and has the potential of providing significant insights into management and organizational behavior.

Mail Questionnaires in Survey Research: A Review of Response Inducement Techniques

The mail questionnaire is one of the most frequently used and controversial techniques in applied social science research. Much of the controversy relates to the difficulty involved in achieving response rates high enough to ensure representativeness. This paper surveys the recent literature on response inducement techniques in mail survey research. This review examined 12 of the most frequently researched techniques for increasing response rates. Five were found to consistently produce higher responses. These were prenotification, personalization, the inclusion of monetary incentives, follow-up, and higher class return postage. Two, source sponsorship and the type of appeal in the cover letter, appeared to increase response rates but in a situation specific manner. Four of the factors examined had no effect on response rates. These were the address location or social setting in which the questionnaire was received; specification of a deadline; the color, length, form, or preceding of the instrument; and the interaction of multiple factors. One item, the class of outgoing postage remained inconclusive.

Macroenvironmental analysis for strategic management

Abstract Macroenvironmental analysis is an integral part of systematic strategic planning. Even though the literature on macroenvironmental analysis is fragmented, there are useful guidelines for making sense out of this complex and important aspect of strategic planning. This article highlights five important questions managers should ask about macroenvironmental analysis, develops a model for the process, and summarizes what research and experience tell us about each question.

Transferring Management Theory to Practice

The perceptions of researchers and managers are examined with regard to various aspects of the knowledge utilization process, adding an empirical dimension to earlier descriptive efforts. Substanti...

Costs and benefits of selected response inducement techniques in mail survey research

Abstract In this paper, the results of a study designed to evaluate the costs and benefits of selected response inducement techniques in mail survey research are reported. Traditionally, survey researchers have considered only the response rates obtained from different inducements without incorporating costs. Four response inducement techniques that have consistently improved response rates were compared on the basis of their relative contributions to response rate improvements and the per response cost of each. A methodology for evaluating the cost impact of various response inducements is developed along with an analysis of the cost of various inducements.

Market effects on electronic health record adoption by physicians.

Background: Despite the advantages of electronic health record (EHR) systems, the adoption of these systems has been slow among community-based physicians. Current studies have examined organizational and personal barriers to adoption; however, the influence of market characteristics has not been studied. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of market characteristics on EHR adoption by physicians. Methodology: Generalized hierarchal linear modeling was used to analyze EHR survey data from Florida which were combined with data from the Area Resource File and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. The main outcome variable was self-reported use of EHR by physicians. Findings: A total of 2,926 physicians from practice sizes of 20 or less were included in the sample. Twenty-one percent (n = 613) indicated that they personally and routinely use an EHR system in their practice. Physicians located in counties with higher physician concentration were found to be more likely to adopt EHRs. For every one-unit increase in nonfederal physicians per 10,000 in the county, there was a 2.0% increase in likelihood of EHR adoption by physicians (odds ratio = 1.02, confidence interval = 1.00-1.03). Health maintenance organization penetration rate and poverty level were not found to be significantly related to EHR adoption. However, practice size, years in practice, Medicare payer mix, and measures of technology readiness were found to independently influence physician adoption. Practice Implications: Market factors play an important role in the diffusion of EHRs in small medical practices. Policy makers interested in furthering the adoption of EHRs must consider strategies that would enhance the confidence of users as well as provide financial support in areas with the highest concentration of small medical practices and Medicare beneficiaries. Health care leaders should be cognizant of the market forces that enable or constrain the adoption of EHR among their practices and those of their competitors.

Perceived Humor and Social Network Patterns in a Sample of Task-Oriented Groups: A Reexamination of Prior Research

Nine diverse, task-oriented groups were studied in an effort to relate humor networks and interpersonal relations. Data were collected by means of a self-administered, structured questionnaire. The results did not confirm the assumption that rank-and-file employees are more actively involved in the humor network than are managers. However, in cases where managers were included, they were first accepted as friends. Unlike prior studies, this analysis revealed that when managers were accepted as friends and “admitted” to the humor network they were frequently overchosen as initiators and foci of work-related joking. There was strong evidence that cohesive and noncohesive work groups possess different humor patterns. Interpersonally, overchosen members relative to one criterion of interpersonal relations were overchosen relative to several criteria. Also, in many cases, group members who occupied key humor roles were overchosen on one or more criteria of social interaction. Humor networks were identified as an extension of the larger social environment of work.

Mitigating risks, visible hands, inevitable disasters, and soft variables: Management research that matters to managers

This publication contains reprint articles for which IEEE does not hold copyright. Full text is not available on IEEE Xplore for these articles.

The Knowledge Utilization Process in Management and Organization

This article deals with the knowledge utilization process in management and organization and relates the concepts of knowledge flow to management education and development. Primary attention is giv...

Strategic configurations in health services organizations

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine if financially successful health service organizations are characterized by a limited number of configurations and less financially successful health service organizations are characterized by a different set of configurations. Data on 77 health service organizations were collected from case studies and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents. Organizations were scored according to environmental, strategy making, organization/structure variables and financial success. Three individuals with health care experience were provided detailed instructions and were asked to independently rate the 77 organizations relative to the variables. The financial success variable was separately rated by a third individual with extensive finance and health care expertise. Five financially successful and five financially less successful configurations were identified and described according to their major characteristics. The configurations were limited and consistent with configuration studies in industries other than health care with a few noteworthy exceptions.