the Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management
Winter 2003 Vol. 4 No. 2
Article Abstracts
Differences in the Ethical Orientations of Upper Level U.S.
and Mexican Business Students
Jennifer E. Spencer
Victor E. Sower
Mitchell J. Muehsam
Sam Houston State University
ABSTRACT
This study is an investigation of cross-cultural ethical orientations of upper level business students from universities in Mexico and the United States using retail environment scenarios. The study controlled for the potentially confounding variables of age, gender, retail experience, and type of university. Significant differences in three ethical dimensions (customer-related, peer-related, work-related) were found to exist between US and Mexican students. No significant differences were found in ethical orientations between students in secular and Catholic universities in the United States; however, significant differences were found in ethical orientations between secular and Catholic university students in Mexico. Go To Article
Challenges of Virtual Teams in the Classroom
Anthony F. Chelte
Western New England College
Abstract
Virtual teams have received considerable attention in the literature. Little systematic or empirical investigation to support the widespread use of these teams appears in the literature, however. Anecdotal evidence is highly touted in supporting the wider use of virtual teams and it has been suggested that the virtual team may be the organizational structure of the 21st century. This paper examines the use of virtual teams in the context of an MBA distance-learning course. Four teams were assigned for the course. Of these four teams, only one maintained a virtual team structure. Some initial findings are presented derived from team reports and a Team Assessment Survey. Go To Article
Early versus Later Respondents in Intranet-based, Organizational Surveys*
Ingwer Borg
ZUMA
Tracy L. Tuten
Virginia Commonwealth University
Abstract
Differences between waves of respondents (earlier versus later) has been assessed in past survey results to detect possible bias in relationships between attitutes and response time. The measurement of response time was imprecise in these mail surveys. This paper investigates differences of earlier and later respondents using two cross-cultural employee surveys with an on-line administration mode that provides a precise measure of time. We find that return time is unrelated to scale values of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and other survey items. However, some regional or cultural differences in responding earlier or later to an employee survey are observed. Go To Article
Managing Language Use in the Workplace
Karl Krahnke
Colorado State University
Lynn Hoffman
University of Northern Colorado
Keiko Krahnke
University of Northern Colorado
ABSTRACT
The US workforce is increasingly linguistically and culturally complex. This paper examines the behavior of speaking languages other than English in the workplace, which sometimes results in conflict and litigation. In this paper, the authors examine this phenomenon from sociolinguistic (social relationships, code-switching, and subject matter proficiency) and legal perspectives. Suggestions to employers for effectively managing the multilingual workplace are also presented.
Go To Article
CASE
Toys-R-Us (A) in the Online Toy Business & Toys-R-Us (B) Forms an Online Alliance
Alan B. Eisner
Lubin School of Business, Pace University
Jerome C. Kuperman
Minnesota State University, Moorhead
Robert F. Dennehy
Lubin School of Business, Pace University
John P. Dory
Lubin School of Business, Pace University
ABSTRACT
This case conveys a situation that is complex, yet easy for students to relate to in a practical real-world setting. Toys-R-Us is in an industry that every student can understand and to which all students can easily relate. The company in the case is responding to industry changes occurring as a result of the E-commerce revolution; again, a technological change that students can understand and to which they can relate. Students can find issues within this case that has implications for the broad range of topics covered in a strategy class including: the general environment, the industry environment (Porter, 1980), internal environment resources and capabilities (Barney, 1991; Peteraf, 1993), value chain analysis (Porter, 1985), business level strategy analysis, and corporate level strategy. Go To Case Study
BOOK REVIEW
Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence
by Daniel Goleman, Richard E. Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002.
Reviewed by William D. Reisel
St. John’s University, Staten Island, NY.
Go To Book Review