The development and operation of the effective interpersonal relationship skills relevant to career development problems from staff assessment at an industrial research laboratory

This study concerns the application of a model of effective interpersonal relationships to problems arising from staff assessment at I.C.I. Ltd. Corporate Laboratory between 1972 and 1974. In collaboration with academic and industrial supervision, the study commenced with a survey of management and supervisor opinions about the effectiveness of current staff (work) relationships, with particular reference to the problem of recognising and developing creative potential. This survey emphasised a need to improve the relationships between staff in the staff assessment context. A survey of research into creativity emphasised the importance of the interpersonal environment for obtaining creative behaviour in an organisation context. A further survey of theories of how inter­personal behaviour related to personal creativity (therapeutic psychology) provided a model of effective interpersonal behaviour (Carkhuff, 1969) that could be applied to the organisation context of staff assessment. The objective of the project was redefined as a need to improve the conditions of interpersonal behaviour in relation to certain (career development) problems arising from staff assessment practices. In order to demonstrate the application of the model of effective interpersonal behaviour, the research student recorded interviews between himself and members of staff designed to develop and operate the dimensions of the model. Different samples of staff were used to develop the 'facilitative' and the 'action oriented' dimensions of bahaviour, and then for the operation of a helping programme (based on vocational guidance tests). These interactions have been analysed, according to the scales of measurement in the model ana the results are presented in case study form in this thesis. At each stage of the project, results and conclusions were presented to the sponsoring organisation (e.g. industrial supervisor) in order to assess their (subjective) opinion of relevance to the organ­ isation. Finally, recommendations on further actions towards general improvement of the work relationships in the laboratory were presented in a brief report to the sponsor.

Engineering education for the 21st century:scholarship, synergy and student success

Starting with the question “How can University level Engineering Education be developed in such a way so as to enhance the quality of the student learning experience?”, this discussion paper proposes an approach to engineering education developed by a senior engineering educator working alongside a pedagogical researcher in an attempt to engage colleagues in contemporary debates about the issues currently faced across the Sector. Such issues include difficulties with recruiting students onto programmes as well as high levels of student attrition and failure. Underpinned by three distinctive concepts: Synergy, Variety & Relationships (S+V+R), the approach brings together pedagogic and engineering epistemologies in an empirically grounded framework in such a way so as to provide an accessible and relevant learning approach that, if followed, engenders student success [S2]. Specifically developed with the intention of increasing retention and positively impacting student success [S2], the S+V+R=S2 approach provides a scholarly and Synergetic (S) approach to engineering education that is both innovative and exciting. Building on the argument that Variety (V) in education is pivotal to promoting originality and creativity in learning and teaching, this paper shows how, by purposefully developing a range of learning and teaching approaches, student engagement and thus success can be increased. It also considers the importance of Relationships (R) in higher education, arguing that belonging and relationships are crucial factors impacting student experiences. When taken together (Synergy, Variety and Relationships) and applied within an Engineering Education context, students are provided with a unique learning environment – one that both promotes individual success and improves organisational effectiveness. The uniqueness of the approach is in the synthesis of these three concepts within an Engineering Education epistemology.

How does bureaucracy impact individual creativity? A cross-level investigation of team contextual influences on goal orientation-creativity relationships

Offering important counterpoint to work identifying team influences stimulating creative expression of individual differences in goal orientation, we develop cross-level theory establishing that team bureaucratic practices (centralization and formalization) constrain creative expression. Speaking to the tension between bureaucracy and creativity, findings indicate that this influence is not only negative and that effects of centralization and formalization differ. Surveying 330 employees in 95 teams at the Taiwan Customs Bureau, we found that learning and "performance avoid" goal orientations had, respectively, stronger positive and weaker negative relationships with creativity under low centralization. A "performance- prove" orientation was positively related to creativity under low formalization. © Academy of Management Journal.

Negotiating ethnicity, class, and gender:German associational culture in Glasgow 1864-1914

One feature of nineteenth-century German migrant communities was a dense network of religious and secular ethnic institutions in virtually all destination countries. The article is a microhistorical study of a representative German community in Britain. Ethnic institutions in Glasgow included two protestant congregations and a variety of associations fostering sociability, culture and philanthropy. The institutions served as a platform to negotiate questions of ethnicity, class and gender. They were mostly financed by a small elite within the German business community which, in turn, used them to exercise power and confirm social stratification. In the pre-war years, ethnic life was increasingly permeated by nationalism. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

The role of SHRM in turning tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge:a cross-national study of the UK and Malta

We propose that strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices nurture a context of knowledge sharing where tacit knowledge can be turned into explicit knowledge and that this type of knowledge sharing promotes innovative behaviours. We draw on the fields of knowledge management and international human resource management to show why organisations need to turn tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge to gain most from their workforce skills and creativity. Findings from a couple of cross-national case studies show how SHRM promotes employees to interact and share knowledge so that there is a conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge that informs innovative behaviour. In Case Study 1, the focus is on a UK local authority that implemented a bundle of SHRM practices through a people management programme, which resulted in a flattened management structure. In Case Study 2, the focus is on a geriatric hospital in Malta that introduced a management presence to an interdisciplinary team working to improve patient care. The analysis also highlights the methodological contribution of qualitative research for enabling inductive enquiry that yields emergent themes - an approach not typically seen in SHRM innovation studies. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Relationships between temperament and eating behaviours in young children

This study examined the associations between eating behaviours and temperament in a sample of young children. Mothers (N=241) of children aged 3-8 years completed measures of their children's eating behaviours and temperament and reported their child's height and weight. Children with more emotional temperaments were reported to display more food avoidant eating behaviours. Shyness, sociability and activity were not related to children's eating behaviours. Higher child BMI was related to more food approach eating behaviours but BMI was unrelated to child temperament. Future research should explore more specifically how emotional temperaments might influence child eating behaviour.

Professional standards research:job satisfaction and innovation

Job satisfaction is a significant predictor of organisational innovation – especially where employees (including shop-floor workers) experience variety in their jobs and work in a single-status environment. The relationship between job satisfaction and performance has long intrigued work psychologists. The idea that "happy workers are productive workers" underpins many theories of performance, leadership, reward and job design. But contrary to popular belief, the relationship between job satisfaction and performance at individual level has been shown to be relatively weak. Research investigating the link between job satisfaction and creativity (the antecedent to innovation) shows that job dissatisfaction promotes creative outcomes. The logic is that those who are dissatisfied (and have decided to stay with the organisation) are determined to change things and have little to lose in doing so (see JM George & J Zhou, 2002). We were therefore surprised to find in the course of our own research into managerial practices and employee attitudes in manufacturing organisations that job satisfaction was a highly significant predictor of product and technological innovation. These results held even though the research was conducted longitudinally, over two years, while controlling for prior innovation. In other words, job satisfaction was a stronger predictor of innovation than any pre-existing orientation organisations had towards working innovatively. Using prior innovation as a control variable, as well as a longitudinal research design, strengthened our case against the argument that people are satisfied because they belong to a highly innovative organisation. We found that the relationship between job satisfaction and innovation was stronger still where organisations showed that they were committed to promoting job variety, especially at shop-floor level. We developed precise instruments to measure innovation, taking into account the magnitude of the innovation both in terms of the number of people involved in its implementation, and how new and different it was. Using this instrument, we are able to give each organisation in our sample a "score" from one to seven for innovation in areas ranging from administration to production technology. We found that much innovation is incremental, involving relatively minor improvements, rather than major change. To achieve sustained innovation, organisations have to draw on the skills and knowledge of employees at all levels. We also measured job satisfaction at organisational level, constructing a mean "job satisfaction" score for all organisations in our sample, and drawing only on those companies whose employees tended to respond in a similar manner to the questions they were asked. We argue that where most of the workforce experience job satisfaction, employees are more likely to collaborate, to share ideas and aim for high standards because people are keen to sustain their positive feelings. Job variety and single-status arrangements further strengthen the relationship between satisfaction and performance. This makes sense; where employees experience variety, they are exposed to new and different ideas and, provided they feel positive about their jobs, are likely to be willing to try to apply these ideas to improve their jobs. Similarly, staff working in single-status environments where hierarchical barriers are reduced are likely to feel trusted and valued by management and there is evidence (see G Jones & J George, 1998) that people work collaboratively and constructively with those they trust. Our study suggests that there is a strong business case for promoting employee job satisfaction. Managers and HR practitioners need to ensure their strategies and practices support and sustain job satisfaction among their workforces to encourage constructive, collaborative and creative working. It is more important than ever for organisations to respond rapidly to demands of the external environment. This study shows the positive association between organisational-level job satisfaction and innovation. So if a happy workforce is the key to unlocking innovation and organisations want to thrive in the global economy, it is vital that managers and HR practitioners pay close attention to employee perceptions of the work environment. In a world where the most innovative survive it could make all the difference.

Introduction : the role of quality, production and technological innovation in improving competitive performance

Quality, production and technological innovation management rank among the most important matters of concern to modern manufacturing organisations. They can provide companies with the decisive means of gaining a competitive advantage, especially within industries where there is an increasing similarity in product design and manufacturing processes. The papers in this special issue of International Journal of Technology Management have all been selected as examples of how aspects of quality, production and technological innovation can help to improve competitive performance. Most are based on presentations made at the UK Operations Management Association's Sixth International Conference held at Aston University at which the theme was 'Getting Ahead Through Technology and People'. At the conference itself over 80 papers were presented by authors from 15 countries around the world. Among the many topics addressed within the conference theme, technological innovation, quality and production management emerged as attracting the greatest concern and interest of delegates, particularly those from industry. For any new initiative to be implemented successfully, it should be led from the top of the organization. Achieving the desired level of commitment from top management can, however, be a difficulty. In the first paper of this issue, Mackness investigates this question by explaining how systems thinking can help. In the systems approach, properties such as 'emergence', 'hierarchy', 'commnication' and 'control' are used to assist top managers in preparing for change. Mackness's paper is then complemented by Iijima and Hasegawa's contribution in which they investigate the development of Quality Information Management (QIM) in Japan. They present the idea of a Design Review and demonstrate how it can be used to trace and reduce quality-related losses. The next paper on the subject of quality is by Whittle and colleagues. It relates to total quality and the process of culture change within organisations. Using the findings of investigations carried out in a number of case study companies, they describe four generic models which have been identified as characterising methods of implementing total quality within existing organisation cultures. Boaden and Dale's paper also relates to the management of quality, but looks specifically at the construction industry where it has been found there is still some confusion over the role of Quality Assurance (QA) and Total Quality Management (TQM). They describe the results of a questionnaire survey of forty companies in the industry and compare them to similar work carried out in other industries. Szakonyi's contribution then completes this group of papers which all relate specifically to the question of quality. His concern is with the two ways in which R&D or engineering managers can work on improving quality. The first is by improving it in the laboratory, while the second is by working with other functions to improve quality in the company. The next group of papers in this issue all address aspects of production management. Umeda's paper proposes a new manufacturing-oriented simulation package for production management which provides important information for both design and operation of manufacturing systems. A simulation for production strategy in a Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) environment is also discussed. This paper is then followed by a contribution by Tanaka and colleagues in which they consider loading schedules for manufacturing orders in a Material Requirements Planning (MRP) environment. They compare mathematical programming with a knowledge-based approach, and comment on their relative effectiveness for different practical situations. Engstrom and Medbo's paper then looks at a particular aspect of production system design, namely the question of devising group working arrangements for assembly with new product structures. Using the case of a Swedish vehicle assembly plant where long cycle assembly work has been adopted, they advocate the use of a generally applicable product structure which can be adapted to suit individual local conditions. In the last paper of this particular group, Tay considers how automation has affected the production efficiency in Singapore. Using data from ten major industries he identifies several factors which are positively correlated with efficiency, with capital intensity being of greatest interest to policy makers. The two following papers examine the case of electronic data interchange (EDI) as a means of improving the efficiency and quality of trading relationships. Banerjee and Banerjee consider a particular approach to material provisioning for production systems using orderless inventory replenishment. Using the example of a single supplier and multiple buyers they develop an analytical model which is applicable for the exchange of information between trading partners using EDI. They conclude that EDI-based inventory control can be attractive from economic as well as other standpoints and that the approach is consistent with and can be instrumental in moving towards just-in-time (JIT) inventory management. Slacker's complementary viewpoint on EDI is from the perspective of the quality relation-ship between the customer and supplier. Based on the experience of Lucas, a supplier within the automotive industry, he concludes that both banks and trading companies must take responsibility for the development of payment mechanisms which satisfy the requirements of quality trading. The three final papers of this issue relate to technological innovation and are all country based. Berman and Khalil report on a survey of US technological effectiveness in the global economy. The importance of education is supported in their conclusions, although it remains unclear to what extent the US government can play a wider role in promoting technological innovation and new industries. The role of technology in national development is taken up by Martinsons and Valdemars who examine the case of the former Soviet Union. The failure to successfully infuse technology into Soviet enterprises is seen as a factor in that country's demise, and it is anticipated that the newly liberalised economies will be able to encourage greater technological creativity. This point is then taken up in Perminov's concluding paper which looks in detail at Russia. Here a similar analysis is made of the concluding paper which looks in detail at Russia. Here a similar analysis is made of the Soviet Union's technological decline, but a development strategy is also presented within the context of the change from a centralised to a free market economy. The papers included in this special issue of the International Journal of Technology Management each represent a unique and particular contribution to their own specific area of concern. Together, however, they also argue or demonstrate the general improvements in competitive performance that can be achieved through the application of modern principles and practice to the management of quality, production and technological innovation.

Fostering team creativity:perspective taking as key to unlocking diversity's potential

Despite the clear importance of team creativity for organizations, the conditions that foster it are not very well understood. Even though diversity, especially diversity of perspectives and knowledge, is frequently argued to stimulate higher creativity in teams, empirical findings on this relationship remain inconsistent. We have developed a theoretical model in which the effect of a team's diversity on its creativity is moderated by the degree to which team members engage in perspective taking. We propose that perspective taking helps realize the creative benefits of diversity of perspectives by fostering information elaboration. Results of a laboratory experiment support the hypothesized interaction between diversity and perspective taking on team creativity. Diverse teams performed more creatively than homogeneous teams when they engaged in perspective taking, but not when they were not instructed to take their team members' perspectives. Team information elaboration was found to mediate this moderated effect and was associated with a stronger indirect effect than mere information sharing or task conflict. Our results point to perspective taking as an important mechanism to unlock diversity's potential for team creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Process and performance in international collaborative research

Motivated by policy goals to develop international research capability and our experiences of collaborative research, we wanted to learn more about the factors that influence success in collaborative research. This article presents a review of the academic literature on collaborative research, focusing on multinational teams doing international comparative research. We address the question ‘what accounts for variation in process and performance of collaborative research projects?’, through 11 themes: context; vision; reward and commitment; leadership; structure; contract; task capability; sociability; communication; finance; rhythm and pace. We then propose an agenda for future research with an analytic framework and, finally, our conclusions.

Experiencing an 'inclusive' education:parents and their children with 'special educational needs'

This paper focuses on the experiences of British parents who have children identified with ‘special education needs’ within mainstream education. Expectations of mainstream education can have a negative affect on parents when a child is unable to maintain his or her education within a mainstream school. In England and Wales, ‘inclusion’ within mainstream schools is implemented by the current government and promoted as anti-exclusionary. However, current research indicates that actual ‘inclusion’ (the child experiencing inclusion as well as being placed in a mainstream environment) is not necessarily occurring in practice. As it stands, the conflict is between desires to embrace difference based on a philosophy of ‘equal rights’ (‘inclusive’ education) and prioritising educational performance, structuring it in such a way that it leaves little room for difference and creativity due to the highly structured testing and examination culture. Qualitative analysis of parents who have children identified with special educational needs indicate that they have hopes and expectations for their children. These hopes and expectations are challenged recurrently.

Knowledge workers and their relationships with organisations

The programme of research examines knowledge workers, their relationships with organisations, and perceptions of management practices through the development of a theoretical model and knowledge worker archetypes. Knowledge worker and non-knowledge worker archetypes were established through an analysis of the extant literature. After an exploratory study of knowledge workers in a small software development company the archetypes were refined to include occupational classification data and the findings from Study 1. The Knowledge Worker Characteristics Model (KWCM) was developed as a theoretical framework in order to analyse differences between the two archetypes within the IT sector. The KWCM comprises of the variables within the job characteristics model, creativity, goal orientation, identification and commitment. In Study 2, a global web based survey was conducted. There were insufficient non-knowledge worker responses and therefore a cluster analysis was conducted to interrogate the archetypes further. This demonstrated, unexpectedly, that that there were marked differences within the knowledge worker archetypes suggesting the need to granulate the archetype further. The theoretical framework and the archetypes were revised (as programmers and web developers) and the research study was refocused to examine occupational differences within knowledge work. Findings from Study 2 identified that there were significant differences between the archetypes in relation to the KWCM. 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted in Study 3 in order to deepen the analysis using qualitative data and to examine perceptions of people management practices. The findings from both studies demonstrate that there were significant differences between the two groups but also that job challenge, problem solving, intrinsic reward and team identification were of importance to both groups of knowledge workers. This thesis presents an examination of knowledge workers’ perceptions of work, organisations and people management practices in the granulation and differentiation of occupational archetypes.

Where do bright ideas occur in our brain? Meta-analytic evidence from neuroimaging studies of domain-specific creativity

Many studies have assessed the neural underpinnings of creativity, failing to find a clear anatomical localization. We aimed to provide evidence for a multi-componential neural system for creativity. We applied a general activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis to 45 fMRI studies. Three individual ALE analyses were performed to assess creativity in different cognitive domains (Musical, Verbal, and Visuo-spatial). The general ALE revealed that creativity relies on clusters of activations in the bilateral occipital, parietal, frontal, and temporal lobes. The individual ALE revealed different maximal activation in different domains. Musical creativity yields activations in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus, in the left cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule and in the right postcentral and fusiform gyri. Verbal creativity yields activations mainly located in the left hemisphere, in the prefrontal cortex, middle and superior temporal gyri, inferior parietal lobule, postcentral and supramarginal gyri, middle occipital gyrus, and insula. The right inferior frontal gyrus and the lingual gyrus were also activated. Visuo-spatial creativity activates the right middle and inferior frontal gyri, the bilateral thalamus and the left precentral gyrus. This evidence suggests that creativity relies on multi-componential neural networks and that different creativity domains depend on different brain regions.

Whether social schema violations help or hurt creativity depends on need for structure

Although people and events that disconfirm observers' expectancies can increase their creativity, sometimes such social schema violations increase observers' rigidity of thought and undermine creative cognition. Here we examined whether individual differences in the extent to which people prefer structure and predictability determine whether social schema violations facilitate or hamper creativity. Participants in Study 1 formed impressions of a schema-inconsistent female mechanic (vs. a schema-consistent male mechanic). Following schema-inconsistent rather than -consistent information, participants low (high) in need for structure showed better (impeded) creative performance. Participants in Study 2 memorized a series of images in which individuals were placed on a schema-inconsistent (vs. consistent) background (e.g., an Eskimo on the desert vs. on a snowy landscape). Following schema-inconsistent imagery, participants low (high) in need for structure increased (decreased) divergent thinking. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Climate setting in sourcing teams:developing a measurement scale for team creativity climate

Creative sourcing strategies, designed to extract more value from the supply base, have become a competitive, strategic differentiator. To fuel creativity, companies install sourcing teams that can capitalize on the specialized knowledge and expertise of their employees across the company. This article introduces the concept of a team creativity climate (TCC) - team members' shared perceptions of their joint policies, procedures, and practices with respect to developing creative sourcing strategies – as a means to address the unique challenges associated with a collective, cross-functional approach to develop value-enhancing sourcing strategies. Using a systematic scale development process that validates the proposed concept, the authors confirm its ability to predict sourcing team performance, and suggest some research avenues extending from this concept.