Suchergebnisse

The book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis, has intrigued management practitioners and researchers. This article describes the use of the book as a supplementary reading in a management course. The book was found to be a useful complement to a traditional textbook when addressing topics such as organizational change and innovation, leadership, recruiting and selection, performance management, employee development, and negotiations. A student survey was conducted to assess student perceptions. Generally, students, regardless of their level of academic success, found the book to be a useful addition to the course. Male students reported greater support for the book; however, the results from further analysis indicate that this gender difference is a function of student interest in sports. The author concludes by advocating for the use of Moneyball, while cautioning management educators to be vigilant of gender bias.

This article extends understanding of how institutional factors influence the degree to which employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are or are not democratically structured. It examines how factors such as union member participation, industry, age of the ESOP, ownership structure and firm size influence a range of ESOP attributes, including: level of employee ownership, stock allocations, vesting and voting practices and the extent of employee participation in administration and decision-making. Based on a survey of 68 ESOPs, we found that when bargaining unit workers participated in an ESOP, the plan tended to be more participative and egalitarian. By contrast, the other factors examined had relatively little impact. These findings have important implications for unions, managers and policy-makers around what form of ESOP to advance.

North American scholars have had an historical interest in the extent to which workers can be committed to both their employer and their union. This is particularly relevant given the recent emphasis on greater labor-management cooperation as part of a competitive strategy. This paper reviewed the correlational literature concerning the relationship between company and union commitment. Meta-analysis procedures were applied to the results of 76 samples involving a total of 15,699 respondents and found a mean corrected effect size of .42. The extended analyses included multiple studies from Canada, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. A system-level moderator, adversarial, or consensual approach to industrial relations, was found. While further moderator analysis was warranted, studies lacked sufficient information for coding. Conceptual and practical implications from the findings are drawn.