A comparison of body-image dissatisfaction and eating disturbance among Australian and Hong Kong women

The current cross-cultural study was designed to test the validity of a biopsychosocial mediation model which hypothesized that a variety of biological, psychological and social variables would have their mode of action upon eating disturbance through the mediation of body-image dissatisfaction. The biopsychosocial variables examined were body mass, self-esteem, weight-related teasing, previous dieting and sociocultural influences. Forty-eight Hong Kong and 100 Australian females aged 17-28 years were assessed. Results revealed no significant difference between the groups of women in levels of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance; however, different variables in the biopsychosocial model appeared to have contributed to their predisposition to these conditions. The findings suggest that there appear to exist important cultural differences in various aspects of dieting and body image in young women. Implications for prevention, treatment and future research are discussed. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Understanding sociocognitive space of written discourse: Implications for teaching business writing to Chinese students

Confronted with various issues in teaching business writing to Chinese students in New Zealand, this paper sees the need for bridging the gap between genre-based research and teaching in an intercultural context. Specifically, it develops an intercultural reflective model in the light of Bhatia's sociocognitive genre study as well as cross-cultural persuasion. As an important part of the model, New Zealand and Chinese experts' intracultural and intercultural reflections on business writing are solicited and compared and the theoretical implications for teaching and learning business writing are discussed. It has been found, through a case study of analysing English and Chinese business faxes, this model can offer an in-depth understanding about discursive competence across cultures, and provide a link between genre-based theory, teaching practice and professional expertise.

'Faith-based' organisations and contemporary welfare

This paper explores issues arising from the welfare reform process in the United States and Australia. The involvement of faith-based organisations in both countries has evolved in different historical, social, political and cultural contexts. The paper will explore three main themes. First, it examines the relevance of the term 'faith-based' to describe the nature of the relationship between charities and churches in the mixed economy of welfare in the Australian context. Second, it provides a critical analysis of the reform processes, suggesting implications for the future of church-based organisations. Third, it maps directions for cross-comparative research of church-based social services provision in both countries.

Predictors of cultural adjustment: Intergroup status relations and boundary permeability

We examined intergroup predictors of cultural adjustment among Asian international students in Australia. Sociostructural beliefs (status, legitimacy, and permeability) and initial adjustment were assessed (N = 113) at Time 1, and measures of adjustment were obtained (N = 80) at Time 2 eight weeks later. International students who perceived their cultural group to be relatively low in status experienced lower levels of psychological adjustment. Also, as expected, the effects of status were moderated by perceptions of both the permeability of intergroup boundaries and the legitimacy of the status differential. At high levels of legitimacy, perceptions of permeable group boundaries were associated with better psychological, sociocultural, and academic adjustment among international students perceiving their group to be low in status, but lower levels of adjustment among students who perceived their group to be high in status. At low levels of legitimacy, irrespective of group status position, perceived permeability was not related to adjustment.

Relationship between work performance and personality traits in Hong Kong organizational settings

Four hundred and thirty-seven employees from four Hong Kong organizations completed the Traditional Chinese versions of the Fifteen Factor Personality Questionnaire Plus (15FQ+) and the Cross-Cultural Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-2) (indigenous scales) and provided objective and memory-based recent performance appraisal scores. A number of significant bivariate correlations were found between personality and performance scores. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that a number of the scales from the 15FQ+ contributed to significantly predicting four of the performance competency dimensions, but that the CPAI-2 indigenous scales contributed no incremental validity in performance prediction over and above the 15FQ+. Results are discussed in the light of previous research and a call made for continued research to further develop and increase the reliability of the Chinese instruments used in the study and to enable generalization of the findings with confidence.

National culture, trust and internet privacy concerns

A major inhibitor to e-commerce stems from the reluctance consumers have to complete transactions because of concern over the use of private information divulged in online transaction processing. Because e-commerce occurs in a global environment, cultural factors are likely to have a significant impact on this concern. Building on work done in the area of culture and privacy, and also trust and privacy, we explore the three way relationship between culture, privacy and trust. Better, more appropriate, and contemporary measures of culture have recently been espoused, and a better understanding and articulation of internet users information privacy concern has been developed. We present the results of an exploratory study that builds on the work of Milberg, Gefen, and Bellman to better understand and test the effect that national culture has on trust and internet privacy.

Chinese host country nationals' willingness to support expatriates:the role of collectivism, interpersonal affect and Guanxi

The willingness of host country nationals (HCNs) to provide support to the expatriate has received a lot of attention in the literature on international assignments. Surprisingly, though, the number of empirical studies examining this relationship is extremely limited. This study examines the role of HCNs' collectivistic orientation, interpersonal affect, and guanxi in relation to their willingness to support expatriates. Using data from 212 HCNs in China, it is found that HCNs' perceived relationship quality with the expatriate has a significant impact on their willingness to provide assistance, both role information and social support, to expatriates. Further, it is found that relationship quality is related to perceived cultural similarity. The results reinforce the importance of paying attention to the perceptions and reactions of HCNs towards expatriates. Implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions are offered for future research.

HRM in context:applicability of HRM models in India

Using the core aspects of five main models of human resource management (HRM), this article investigates the dominant HRM practices in the Indian manufacturing sector. The evaluation is conducted in the context of the recently liberalized economic environment. In response to ever-increasing levels of globalization of business, the article initially highlights the need for more cross-national comparative HRM research. Then it briefly analyzes the five models of HRM (namely, the `Matching model'; the `Harvard model'; the `Contextual model'; the `5-P model'; and the `European model') and identifies the main research questions emerging from these that could be used to reveal and highlight the HRM practices in different national/regional settings. The findings of the research are based on a questionnaire survey of 137 large Indian firms and 24 in-depth interviews in as many firms. The examination not only helped to present the scenario of HRM practices in the Indian context but also the logic dictating the presence of such practices. The article contributes to the fields of cross-national HRM and industrial relations research. It also has key messages for policy makers and opens avenues for further research.

Organizational commitment profiles and job satisfaction among Greek private and public sector employees

Recent research into organizational commitment has advocated a profiles-based approach. However, with the exception of Wasti, published findings are confined to North American samples. This article examines the relationships between organizational commitment profiles and job satisfaction in Greece. Greek organizations have rarely been the subject of detailed examination, so the study provides baseline information regarding levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction in Greece. Both private sector (N = 1119) and public sector (N = 476) employees in Greece were surveyed, as this sectoral distinction is regularly associated with different patterns of job-related attitudes. The contrasts between Greek and Anglo-American values present a new challenge to the profiles approach. The results confirm the utility of the profiles approach to the study of organizational commitment. Affective organizational commitment was found to be most influential with respect to levels of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. This concurs with other studies of the behavioural outcomes of commitment. Copyright © 2007 Sage Publications.

Toward understanding inter-organizational knowledge transfer needs in SMEs:insight from a UK investigation

Purpose - External knowledge is generally believed to be of prime importance to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, a review of the literature shows that no empirical research has looked at knowledge management issues at the inter-organizational level in SMEs. This paper seeks to report on an empirical investigation with UK SMEs in the service sector to identify their needs and practices regarding inter-organizational knowledge transfer, and thus provide empirical evidence to support the above belief. Design/methodology/approach - A two-tier methodology (i.e. using both questionnaire survey and interview approaches) is deployed to address the main research objectives. A questionnaire survey of SMEs is carried out to investigate their current inter-organizational knowledge transfer situation and managers' perception on various relevant issues. Then 12 face-to-face interviews with SME managers are conducted to further validate key findings drawn from the questionnaire survey. Findings - The empirical evidence collected from the survey and interviews confirms the general belief that external knowledge is of prime importance for SMEs, and demonstrates that SMEs have very strong needs for external knowledge and inter-organizational knowledge transfer. Research limitations/implications - The findings provide very strong underpinning for further theoretical research on inter-organizational knowledge transfer in SMEs. However, this study has certain limitations: its results may not be applicable to other industrial sectors or the same sector in other countries; or to micro or large companies; nor does it involve cross-cultural issues. Originality/value - By adopting a two-tier research methodology, this study provides more reliable understanding and knowledge on SMEs' inter-organizational knowledge transfer needs and practices, and fills the gap that exists in the empirical investigations on the subject. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Within-country ethnic differences and product positioning:a comparison of the perceptions of two British sub-cultures

While cross-cultural consumer behaviour and its impact on marketing strategies has received considerable interest within the marketing literature, differences between ethnic groups within countries have received significantly less attention. This study examines the effect of within-country ethnic differences on brand positioning, using the UK automobile industry as a context. Both qualitative and quantitative research is used to identify the perceptions of two sub-cultural groups: British of Indian extraction, and Caucasian British. It was found that these two groups display appreciably different values, and also place different levels of importance on different product attributes when evaluating brands. Furthermore, the two groups exhibited different perceptions of the same set of brands. The results suggest that, to position brands effectively, marketers should take account of cultural diversity within countries as well as between them.

Cohesion or confusion? Towards a typology for organizational learning research

The study of organizational learning is no longer in its infancy. Since Cyert and March first introduced the notion in the early 1960s, a plethora of books and journal publications have presented their own interpretations of the meaning and significance of the term. Despite such endeavours, there is little common agreement about what organizational learning represents and how future research may build cumulatively upon the many diverse ideas articulated. The intention here is by no means to address these issues, which have been comprehensively examined elsewhere. The purpose is rather to compare and contrast approaches in order to analyse similarities and dissimilarities, together with research challenges, for each approach. This is achieved by presenting a comparative framework to categorize the literature according to (a) its prescriptive/explanatory bias and (b) in line with the level of analysis, examining whether there is a focus on the organization as a whole or upon individuals and their work communities instead. The review concludes by presenting some preliminary suggestions for cross-quadrant research. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2006.

Ethnic diversity as a multilevel construct:the combined effects of dissimilarity, group diversity, and societal status on learning performance in work groups

The authors present a model of the multilevel effects of diversity on individual learning performance in work groups. For ethnically diverse work groups, the model predicts that group diversity elicits either positive or negative effects on individual learning performance, depending on whether a focal individual’s ethnic dissimilarity from other group members is high or low. By further considering the societal status of an individual’s ethnic origin within society (Anglo versus non-Anglo for our U.K. context), the authors hypothesize that the model’s predictions hold more strongly for non-Anglo group members than for Anglo group members. We test this model with data from 412 individuals working on a 24-week business simulation in 87 four- to seven-person groups with varying degrees of ethnic diversity. Two of the three hypotheses derived from the model received full support and one hypothesis received partial support. Implications for theory development, methods, and practice in applied group diversity research are discussed.

Squaring the circle: the cultural relativity of 'good' shape

The Gestalt theorists of the early twentieth century proposed a psychological primacy for circles, squares and triangles over other shapes. They described them as 'good' shapes and the Gestalt premise has been widely accepted. Rosch (1973), for example, suggested that shape categories formed around these 'natural' prototypes irrespective of the paucity of shape terms in a language. Rosch found that speakers of a language lacking terms for any geometric shape nevertheless learnt paired-associates to these 'good' shapes more easily than to asymmetric variants. We question these empirical data in the light of the accumulation of recent evidence in other perceptual domains that language affects categorization. A cross-cultural investigation sought to replicate Rosch's findings with the Himba of Northern Namibia who also have no terms in their language for the supposedly basic shapes of circle, square and triangle. A replication of Rosch (1973) found no advantage for these 'good' shapes in the organization of categories. It was concluded that there is no necessary salience for circles, squares and triangles. Indeed, we argue for the opposite because these shapes are rare in nature. The general absence of straight lines and symmetry in the perceptual environment should rather make circles, squares and triangles unusual and, therefore, less likely to be used as prototypes in categorization tasks. We place shape as one of the types of perceptual input (in philosophical terms, 'vague') that is readily susceptible to effects of language variation.