the Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management

Spring, 2002                                                                                Vol. 3  No. 3

Abstracts

Spirituality in the Workplace – A Measure of Success?
Hanna Ashar and Maureen Lane-Maher
National-Louis University

ABSTRACT

In 1995, we explored how executives in a large, federal government, law enforcement agency perceive and define success. In 1999, Mitroff and Denton studied how executives in the private-sector view spirituality, religion, and values. The paper distinguishes between the two studies and illuminates their similar findings. Also, it defines spirituality, suggests a link between spirituality and the notion of success, and proposes a conceptual model that contains four components of both success and spirituality. Go To Article

A Business Strategy Typology for the New Economy:
Reconceptualization and Synthesis
John A. Parnell
Texas A & M University-Commerce

ABSTRACT

Research on the nature of the competitive strategy-performance relationship has focused primarily on traditional, brick and mortar businesses.  Although competitive strategy theory is applicable to the new economy, generic strategy typologies do not account for the opportunities and challenges that this economy has presented to strategic managers.  This paper reticulates three critical debates in the field--IO/resource-based theory, strategic groups, and combination strategies and performance--into a business strategy framework specifically applied to businesses operating in the digital, knowledge-based economy.  Challenges for future research are presented.  Go To Article

Hiring consultants during organizational change:
Politics and amalgamation
Ruth Burnice McKay
Niagara University

ABSTRACT

Amalgamated organizations face the difficult task of merging differing organizational structures in order to form a new organization. Some organizations seek the assistance of consultants for this process. One of the greatest challenges the new organization confronts in restructuring is political conflict formed along old organizational lines. Through a case, this paper highlights the risk of hiring consultants during organizational change. Recommendations are provided for discouraging consultants from capitalizing on organizational weaknesses during mergers.  Go To Article

Cooperating Teams and Competing Reward Strategies:
Incentives for Team Performance and Firm Productivity
Larry W. Howard, Middle Tennessee State University
Daniel B. Turban, University of Missouri
Sandra K. Hurley, Frequency Engineering Laboratories

ABSTRACT

Managers and executives from 257 organizations completed mailed surveys investigating relationships among reward strategies, task interdependence, team performance, and firm productivity.   All measures attained at the firm level.  As expected, firms that based employee rewards on either personal or collective output tended to demonstrate higher levels of productivity.  Output-based reward strategies had no direct relationships, however, with team performance.  Also as expected, task interdependence moderated the relationship between rewards based on human capital and team performance.  Team performance was highest when firms with complex task interdependence used human capital strategies to reward employees.  Go To Article

Do Community Banks Gain Competitive Advantage with Online Banking?*
Deborah Salus Radford University
Mary Weeks Radford University

ABSTRACT

Parameters involved with e-banking are: customer acceptance and satisfaction, service rendered, value added for both the organization and consumer, privacy issues, profitability, operational risk, and competition from non-banking institutions. Implementation of the online strategy is a given for large banking institutions, but still being considered by smaller community banks. Issues that concern not only the industry as a whole but also small community banks in particular are addressed. *invited paper  Go To Article

The Rise of Religion and Spirituality in the Workplace:
Employees' Rights and Employers' Accommodations
Keiko Krahnke, University of Northern Colorado
Lynn Hoffman, University of Northern Colorado

ABSTRACT

As more employees bring their spirituality and religious beliefs into the workplace, employers are being asked to accommodate them. This paper defines spirituality and religion from the perspective of the workplace and documents the increasing importance of these phenomena. The paper then explores the legal issues of employers’ duty to accommodate their employees’ religious and spiritual beliefs and concludes with some recommendations to employers.  Go To Article