The influence of individual characteristics on employee creative participation

In a knowledge-based economy and dynamic work environment retaining competitiveness is increasingly dependent on creativity, skills, individual abilities and appropriate motivation. For instance, the UK government explicitly stated in the recent "Review of Employee Engagement and Investment" report that new ways are required through which British companies could boost employee engagement at work, improving staff commitment and, thereby, increase workplace productivity. Although creativity and innovation have been studied extensively, little is known about employees' intrinsic willingness to contribute novel ideas and solutions (defined here as creative participation). For instance, the same individual can thrive in one organisation but be completely isolated in another and the question is to what extent this depends on individual characteristics and organisational settings. The main aim of this research is, therefore, to provide a conceptual framework for identification of individual characteristics that influence employees' willingness to contribute new ideas. In order to achieve this aim the investigation will be based on a developed psychological experiment, and will include personal-profiling inventory and a questionnaire. Understanding how these parameters influence willingness of an individual to put forward created ideas would offer an opportunity for companies to improve motivation practices and team efficiency, and can consequently lead to better overall performance.

Creative participation in construction firms: bridging creativity and innovation

An intricate evolution of mainstream theories follows the growing need to explain employees’ commitment and engagement. Our understanding of these work-related phenomena and behaviour has improved but creativity and innovation as desired indicators are still often treated as coexisting constructs with very little attention given to a state of willingness of an individual to even consider contributing ideas. In this research we investigate the influence of knowledge and understanding, perceived radicality, personality dimensions, and favouring of ideas on employee willingness to creatively participate in order to trace its existence in propagation of ideas. A total of 76 construction and non-construction professionals participated in between-subject quasi-experiments. We also proposed IPO-based radicality of ideas construct from the viewpoint of employees involved in the processes of transformation. The research findings show that experts with deep understanding of the work are more likely to contribute highly radical ideas to decision-makers than less knowledgeable employees. Furthermore, personal factors that impact employee willingness to creatively participate have been valued higher than organisational factors. Personality dimensions by The BigFive Inventory have shown no effect on willingness to contribute ideas, while favouring of ideas showed a significant effect. In general, the findings show similarities with some studies of consumer willingness to participate in co-creation processes and thus indicate that firms may be studied as dynamic internal markets of ideas.

International public goods through integrated natural resources management research in CGIAR partnerships

The CGIAR System conducts research to produce international public goods (IPG) that are of wide applicability creating a scientific base which speeds and broadens local adaptive development. Integrated natural resources management (INRM) research is sometimes seen to be very location specific and consequently does not lend itself readily to the production of IPGs. In this paper we analyse ways in which strategic approaches to INRM research can have broad international applicability and serve as useful foundations for the development of locally adapted technologies. The paper describes the evolution of the IPG concept within the CGIAR and elaborates on five major types of IPGs that have been generated from a varied set of recent INRM research efforts. CGIAR networks have both strengths and weaknesses in INRM research and application, with enormous differences in relative research and development capacities, responsibilities and data access of its partners, making programme process evolution critical to acceptance and participation. Many of the lessons learnt regarding challenges and corresponding IPG research approaches are relevant to designing and managing future multi-scale, multi-locational, coordinated INRM programmes involving broad-based partnerships to address complex environmental and livelihood problems for development.

An assessment of the benefits and limitations of the shamba agroforestry system in Kenya and of management and policy requirements for its successful and sustainable reintroduction

The shamba system involves farmers tending tree saplings on state-owned forest land in return for being permitted to intercrop perennial food crops until canopy closure. At one time the system was used throughout all state-owned forest lands in Kenya, accounting for a large proportion of some 160,000 ha. The system should theoretically be mutually beneficial to both local people and the government. However the system has had a chequered past in Kenya due to widespread malpractice and associated environmental degradation. It was last banned in 2003 but in early 2008 field trials were initiated for its reintroduction. This study aimed to: assess the benefits and limitations of the shamba system in Kenya; assess the main influences on the extent to which the limitations and benefits are realised and; consider the management and policy requirements for the system's successful and sustainable operation. Information was obtained from 133 questionnaires using mainly open ended questions and six participatory workshops carried out in forest-adjacent communities on the western slopes of Mount Kenya in Nyeri district. In addition interviews were conducted with key informants from communities and organisations. There was strong desire amongst local people for the system's reintroduction given that it had provided significant food, income and employment. Local perceptions of the failings of the system included firstly mismanagement by government or forest authorities and secondly abuse of the system by shamba farmers and outsiders. Improvements local people considered necessary for the shamba system to work included more accountability and transparency in administration and better rules with respect to plot allocation and stewardship. Ninety-seven percent of respondents said they would like to be more involved in management of the forest and 80% that they were willing to pay for the use of a plot. The study concludes that the structural framework laid down by the 2005 Forests Act, which includes provision for the reimplementation of the shamba system under the new plantation establishment and livelihood improvement scheme (PELIS) [It should be noted that whilst the shamba system was re-branded in 2008 under the acronym PELIS, for the sake of simplicity the authors continue to refer to the 'shamba system' and 'shamba farmers' throughout this paper.], is weakened because insufficient power is likely to be devolved to local people, casting them merely as 'forest users' and the shamba system as a 'forest user right'. In so doing the system's potential to both facilitate and embody the participation of local people in forest management is limited and the long-term sustainability of the new system is questionable. Suggested instruments to address this include some degree of sharing of profits from forest timber, performance related guarantees for farmers to gain a new plot and use of joint committees consisting of local people and the forest authorities for long term management of forests.

Recurring themes in value management practice

This paper reports on a survey of 17 value management exercises recently carried out within the UK construction industry. Twelve leading value management practitioners were asked to describe an example of a value management study which ‘worked well’ and one which ‘did not work well’. They were further asked to explain the underlying factors which they considered had influenced the eventual outcome of the value management study. The subsequent analysis of the interview transcripts reveals six recurring themes which were held to have had a significant influence: expectations, implementation, participation, power, time constraint and uncertainty. Whilst caution is necessary in extracting the themes from their individual contexts, they do provide a valuable insight into the factors which influence the outcome of value management studies.

Fora, networks and public examinations: the role and significance of public participation in the new regional plan for South East England

This paper overviews the main conceptual frameworks for understanding participatory approaches to land use planning and explores their utility in analysing the experience of a recent regional planning exercise in South East England. In particular it examines the contribution of recent ‘New Institutionalist’ ideas to our understanding of participatory processes and the implications for practice of using them to build strategies of public involvement in policy-making and implementation.

Measuring student perception and actual usage of online learning management system

Online learning management systems are in use to facilitate the face to face learning process in many universities. There are many variables that shape and influence a student’s perception of an online learning management system. This study investigates whether there is a relationship between the perception of a student regarding the learning management system and their actual usage of such system. It is believed to help better understand the student usage of online learning management system. An online questionnaire was published on a course management system for a selected subject and the student participation was voluntary. Results indicate that no significant relationship between the perception students had about the learning management system and the actual use of the system. Interestingly, a significant relationship was found between having internet access away from university and the student perception about the system. Students who had internet access away from university had better perception about the learning management system even though there was no significant difference in the level of online learning management system usage between the groups.

Acceptable use policy and employee computer usage: case of Sri Lankan software development industry

Organizations introduce acceptable use policies to deter employee computer misuse. Despite the controlling, monitoring and other forms of interventions employed, some employees misuse the organizational computers to carry out their personal work such as sending emails, surfing internet, chatting, playing games etc. These activities not only waste productive time of employees but also bring a risk to the organization. A questionnaire was administrated to a random sample of employees selected from large and medium scale software development organizations, which measured the work computer misuse levels and the factors that influence such behavior. The presence of guidelines provided no evidence of significant effect on the level of employee computer misuse. Not having access to Internet /email away from work and organizational settings were identified to be the most significant influences of work computer misuse.

The persistent challenge of encouraging public participation in the low-carbon transition

In order to address the growing urgency of issues around environmental and resource limits, there is a clear need to develop policies that promote changes in behavior and the ways in which society both views and consumes goods and services. However, there is an argument to suggest that, in order to develop effective policies in this area, we need to move beyond a narrow understanding of ‘how individuals behave’ in order to cultivate a more nuanced approach that encompasses behavioral influences in different societies, contexts and settings. In this opinion article we therefore draw on a range of our own recent comparative research studies in order to provide fresh insights into the continued problem of how to engage people individually and collectively in establishing more sustainable, low-carbon societies.

Key drivers of frontline employee generation of ideas for customer service improvement

Anchored in the service-dominant logic and service innovation literature, this study investigates the drivers of employee generation of ideas for service improvement (GISI). Employee GISI focuses on customer needs and providing the exact service wanted by customers. GISI should enhance competitive advantage and organizational success (cf. Berry et al. 2006; Wang and Netemeyer 2004). Despite its importance, there is little research on the idea generation stage of the service development process (Chai, Zhang, and Tan 2005). This study contributes to the service field by providing the first empirical evaluation of the drivers of GISI. It also investigates a new explanatory determinant of reading of customer needs, namely, perceived organizational support (POS), and an outcome of POS, in the form of emotional exhaustion. Results show that the major driver of GISI is reading of customer needs by employees followed by affective organizational commitment and job satisfaction. This research provides several new and important insights for service management practice by suggesting that special care should be put into selecting and recruiting employees who have the ability to read customer needs. Additionally, organizations should invest in creating work environments that encourage and reward the flow of ideas for service improvement

Building employee relationships through corporate social responsibility: the moderating role of social cynicism and reward for application

We explore the role of deeply held beliefs, known as social axioms, in the context of employee–organization relationships. Specifically, we examine how the beliefs identified as social cynicism and reward for application moderate the relationship between employees’ work-related experiences, perceptions of CSR, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward their firm. Utilizing a sample of 130 retail employees, we find that CSR affects more positively employees low on social cynicism and reduces distrust more so than with cynical employees. Employees exhibiting strong reward for application are less positively affected by CSR, whereas their experiences of other work-related factors are more likely to reduce distrust. Our findings suggest the need for a differentiated view of CSR in the context of employee studies and offer suggestions for future research and management practice.