Human Systems Management - Volume 37, issue 3

Authors: Georgantzas, Nicholas C.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Indentured to trends emerging worldwide in business-enterprise organization, this article relays the transformation that ensued from the process of building a system dynamics (SD) model, intended to provide decision-support for a firm competing in high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) industry. The SD modeling process helped the client firm see a considerable increase in its daily revenue, with a potential increase in accounting profit of 62 percent per day. These benefits accrued from transforming the firm’s value chain of HSFO marketing and sales processes and operations, while facilitating the self -development of its internal capability to rely on the SD modeling process …for strategy design and implementation tactics. Despite the study’s limitations as an action or praxis research, the article offers future research directions and policymaking recommendations, toward transforming business enterprises and other societal organizations into the high technology of self -organizing and self -governing societal human systems. Show more

Keywords: action or praxis research, high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO), implementation tactics, internationalization archetypes, marketing, modeling, operations, processes, sales, strategy design, supply and value chain, system dynamics (SD), transformation

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-180368

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 257-270, 2018

Authors: Ahmadi, Anahita | Abzari, Mehdi | Nasr Isfahani, Ali | Safari, Ali

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: In recent years, high-performance work (HPW), and its effects on other organizational constructs, such as organization performance, have attracted the attention of numerous researchers. This study assesses the association between HPW components and knowledge workers’ knowledge sharing, given the mediating role played by managers’ information and communications technology (ICT) skills. In terms of methods, the study is descriptive-correlational and its sampling population consists of knowledge workers, employed by the Electric Distribution Company of the Isfahan Province, associated with knowledge repositories. Using Cochran’s formula and a questionnaire with a return rate of 82 percent, the sample size is 92 people. To …test the study’s hypotheses, the structural equations software Smart PLS3 is used. As the results suggest, except for employee empowerment, all other components of HPW, namely hiring and selection, employee training and development, compensation and bonuses, and employment security, have positively meaningful effects on knowledge sharing. Strongly supported is the mediating effect of the managers’ ICT skills on the associations between high-performance work and knowledge workers’ knowledge sharing. Also discussed are implications for pertinent policymaking and future research. Show more

Keywords: Knowledge sharing, high performance work, knowledge workers, ICT skills

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17169

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 271-280, 2018

Authors: Supriyanto, Supriyanto

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This study examines the effects of air traffic control (ATC) officers’ compensation on their job satisfaction and performance, in PT Angkasa Pura 1 (Persero). Using an explanatory-research method and stratified random sampling, data were collected from 208 ATC officers, at 13 branch offices. Their education ranging from high-school diplomas to postgraduate degrees, said ATC officers perform within four different work units: executive, functional, operational monitoring and structural. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, the empirical research results show that increasing ATC officers’ compensation enhances their job satisfaction and performance, but increasing their job satisfaction can actually decrease their performance. Synoptically, …ATC officers’ compensation can have significantly positive effects on their job satisfaction and performance, yet relying on job satisfaction alone can have significantly negative effects on their performance. Show more

Keywords: OB satisfaction, air traffic control (ATC) officers, compensation, performance, structural equation modeling (SEM)

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-181635

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 281-285, 2018

Authors: Abbas, Wasim | Wu, Weiwei

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This article investigates the role that trust plays in moderating the relation between employee engagement and fairness, in service enterprises. The study’s purposefulness was to examine, first, the link between employee engagement and fairness and, second, whether trust — often treated as a dependent or an intermediate construct—moderates the relation between these two constructs. By utilizing both cross-sectional and quantitative-data collection methods, a questionnaire survey allowed collecting data from 202 service employees, randomly selected from both private and public banks, in Pakistan’s Larkana District. Tested through regression, a pair of empirically assessed hypotheses show the distinct moderating role that trust …plays in the relation between employee engagement and justice, in service enterprises. The article concludes with the study’s limitations, which point to the implications and scope for policymaking and future research. Show more

Keywords: Employee engagement, fairness, trust, service enterprises

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17182

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 287-297, 2018

Authors: Habib, Ashfaq | Huang, Xiaoxia

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This study examines the effect of working capital (WC) on the profitability of manufacturing firms engaged in exports. Over the 2009–2015 time periods, the data gathered from 270 such firms in Pakistan ascertain a curvilinear relation between profitability and WC. Namely the generalized method of movement suggests an optimum working capital for manufacturing firms, estimated at about eight percent of sales revenue. Moreover, the exports’ destination region also affects the association between working capital and profitability, as exports to stable economies sustain working capital, while exports to less-stable economies yield a lower WC. Despite the study’s qualifications, exporting is a …vital business component that affects a manufacturing firm’s working capital, with multiple implications for business practice and research. Show more

Keywords: Working capital, profitability, exports performance, optimal

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17224

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 299-309, 2018

Authors: Karikari, Ama Foriwaa | Opoku Boadi, Portia | Sai, Andrew Adjah

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Given that financial rewards constitute more than 40 percent of payroll budgets, total reward is a most important and complex notion that organizations seeking to accomplish set purpose(s) must pursue. Vying to sustain themselves and to gain competitive advantage, business enterprises and other societal organizations increasingly care for their employees’ well-being. Ergo, employers face two decision options, namely financial and non-financial rewards that make employees content. Unfortunately, most firms emphasize one option more than the other, depending on their prevailing circumstances. Using a mutual-investment framework as a guide, this article explores the influence of employees’ total rewards on corporate performance. …Analyzed are the influences of both financial and non-financial employee rewards on an educational institution performance and how such rewards improve performance. When provided, total rewards can entreat employees to retain their positions, while remaining loyal to their respective organizations. Yet the implementation of total rewards in an educational institution calls for employees’ bravery, especially concerning non-financial rewards, which render employees semi-autonomous. Show more

Keywords: Employee performance, motivation, intrinsic, organization, reward

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17186

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 311-317, 2018

Authors: Kohan, Nabi Allah | Safari, Ali | Teimouri, Hadi

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This article examines the effect of transformational leadership on friendship at the workplace and organizational climate at a major military organization, in the Isfahan province of Iran. The study also examines the mediating role of organizational climate in these relations. This is a descriptive-correlative study. Considering the number of questions in the questionnaire, a sample of 530 individuals was selected and questionnaires were distributed among them. After collecting the questionnaires, 502 of them were fully completed and used for data analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and the Sobel test were used to analyze the data. The results show that transformational …leadership has a positively significant effect on friendship at the workplace and organizational climate. Organizational climate has a positively significant effect on friendship at the workplace. Moreover, organizational climate has a mediating relation between transformational leadership and friendship at the workplace. The results also show that military commanders can promote interpersonal and organizational relationships by changing their leadership style, and thereby create a friendly atmosphere among military personnel, leading to increased satisfaction and motivation as well as defense commitment. Implications of these results for practitioners and researchers are discussed. Show more

Keywords: Transformational leadership, friendship at the workplace, organizational climate, military forces

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17129

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 319-331, 2018

Authors: Yang, Yang | Sun, Linbing | Zhai, Jianwei

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This article presents a model of the impact of stakeholder relations on corporate sales performance, with environmental sustainability playing a moderating role between these two constructs. Correlation analysis and multivariate regression are used to assess these relations. Gleaned from the 2013 International Manufacturing Strategy survey project, empirical data are analyzed with the SPSS software. The results confirm that stakeholder relations, particularly customer and employee relationships, have a significant positive effect on corporate sales performance. And environmental sustainability significantly moderates the impact of business relations on supplier and corporate sales performance. The unique insights the results provide can help business enterprises …enhance their stakeholder relations and thereby improve their sales performance. Stipulated too are recommendations for practice and implications for future research. Show more

Keywords: Stakeholder, stakeholder relations, corporate performance, corporate sales performance, environmental sustainability

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17136

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 333-343, 2018

Authors: Zuhaira, Marwah | Ye-Zhuang, Tian | Azeez, Karrar Abdulelah

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This research tests the role that organizational commitment plays in the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and organizational identification. Furthermore, the research assesses civic, ethical and moral ideals pertinent to leadership, as the above relation’s potential moderators, in the Southern Cement State Company of Iraq. Correlation analysis and linear regression help assess the relations among the study’s constructs and variables. Grounded in the data collected from 262 employees, the results affirm that CSR is associated positively with organizational identification. Organizational commitment plays a partial mediating role between CSR and organizational identification, while the civic, ethical and moral ideals pertinent …to leadership, often used as a band aid in business enterprises and other societal organizations, do not seem significant. The generalizability of our results might be limited because we surveyed people from a single economic sector; this calls for future studies to verify the stability of our findings across another sectors and firms. Show more

Keywords: CSR, organizational commitment, ethical leadership, organizational identification

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17151

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 345-352, 2018

Authors: Sice, Petia | Bentley, Edward | Rauch, Laurie

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Certain ontology and epistemology perspectives are most relevant to human systems’ enquiry. These are derived from a synergy of insights from theories of autopoiesis, interpersonal neurobiology and complexity. Ontology has implications for our comprehension of the nature of human systems: 1/ Human systems are embodied and situated, exhibiting self-organising and emergent properties; 2/ Human experience is personal but not private, it is born in the interactions with the environment, and is validated by the human structure; 3/ Changes in human structure are necessarily subservient to conservation of autopoiesis, i.e. self-production and maintaining life. The epistemological implications deem ontology and epistemology …as mutually informative in human enquiry; the thrust of this article. Our knowledge is limited by our capabilities of awareness. The quality of perception interlinks with cultivating awareness and intentionality for maintaining wellbeing, i.e. sustaining life-enhancing conditions. The concept of ‘wellbeing informatics’ is used to outline a tangible approach to evaluating wellbeing. Show more

Keywords: Autopoiesis, complexity, neurobiology, ontology, epistemology

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-171795

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 353-360, 2018