Search

This report explores the ways in which human resource (HR) managers use "TOEIC"® scores to inform hiring, promotion, and training decisions in an international workplace. Two data sources were used (a) previously collected test users' testimonials that described managers' use of TOEIC scores to inform HR decisions and (b) test-use examples collected from HR managers and TOEIC representatives specifically for this project. Our analysis of test-use examples provided insight into how companies use TOEIC scores to inform HR decisions related to hiring, promotion, and training of employees in international businesses. To conclude, we provide suggestions for future research such as providing services to test users (e.g., assessment literacy, the development of assessments measuring additional components of workplace English, or algorithms to help analyze the various variables relevant to informing HR decisions) to continue to support meaningful and relevant score-based HR decisions and score interpretations.

This study delineates two Taiwanese TESOL teachers' efforts of combining English writing with entrepreneurship education to cultivate English majors' interdisciplinary competence in academic writing classes. An integrated business-and-writing approach was proposed to foster English majors' academic writing skills and entrepreneurial capacities. In this study, farming metaphors ("The two farmers," "Planting the seed," "Growing the seed," and "Harvest") will be used to portray the instructors' shared journey of guiding students to complete a creative business planning project. Feedback from students reveals that students gained content knowledge about the business world, and they learned how to write a business plan. For the two instructors, their endeavors to transform English writing courses to link academic knowledge with real-world purposes have encouraged them for more cross-campus collaborations to inject new energy into higher education institutions. To conclude the paper, pedagogical recommendations are provided to foster English majors' learning of English beyond disciplinary boundaries.

Questionnaire design is routinely guided by classic experiments on question form, wording, and context conducted decades ago. This article explores whether two question order effects (one due to the norm of evenhandedness and the other due to subtraction or perceptual contrast) appear in surveys of probability samples in the United States and 11 other countries (Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom; N = 25,640). Advancing theory of question order effects, we propose necessary conditions for each effect to occur, and found that the effects occurred in the nations where these necessary conditions were met. Surprisingly, the abortion question order effect even appeared in some countries in which the necessary condition was not met, suggesting that the question order effect there (and perhaps elsewhere) was not due to subtraction or perceptual contrast. The question order effects were not moderated by education. The strength of the effect due to the norm of evenhandedness was correlated with various cultural characteristics of the nations. Strong support was observed for the form-resistant correlation hypothesis.

The purpose of this study is related to Green Information Technology (IT), Green Computing, and/or Sustainability (GITS) curriculum initiatives in institutions of higher education in the US and abroad. The purpose of this study is threefold; 1) to evaluate whether GITS academic programs have been initiated in higher educational organizations; 2) to analyze if GITS programs and/or courses are currently in place; and 3) to investigate the conceptual framework of GITS across campuses.

Background: The importance of information technology to current business practices has long drawn the attention of practitioners and academicians. Aim: This paper aims to broaden understanding about service innovation as a critical organizational capability through which information technology adoption influences the competitive advantage of a firm. In the context of financial firms, this study examines how information technology is adopted and managed to enhance service innovation practices and whether and how service innovation practices may influence the competitive advantage of firms. Method: A research framework and the associated hypotheses are proposed. An empirical survey was conducted and questionnaires were mailed to 558 financial firms in Taiwan. Analysis: A total of 124 valid observations was collected and analysed using the partial least squares technique. Conclusions: The results suggest that adopting information technology has positive effects on service innovation practices, which increase the competitive advantage of firms.

This study reports on investigating students' English translation performance and their use of reading strategies in an elective English writing course offered to senior students of English as a Foreign Language for 100 minutes per week for 12 weeks. A courseware-implemented instruction combined with a task-based learning approach was adopted. Based on the same source texts in Chinese, students were asked to complete three English translation tasks rooted in real-life business contexts: "announcements," "sales letters," and "public relation reports." A questionnaire about reading strategies was administered at the end of the instruction. Two types of computational assessment were used to evaluate students' translation performance. The results indicated that students' post-translation was quantitatively and qualitatively improved after receiving 12-week's courseware-implemented instruction, such as writing more words, using more different words of high level, enhancing lexical density, and making fewer errors. An independent sample t-test analysis indicated that a significant difference existed between students with higher and lower writing proficiency in two individual reading strategies related to metacognitive strategies that are higher order executive skills.

During the last decade, environmental issues have become a global concern. According to a report by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration, more than 95% of consumers prioritize purchasing green products. Therefore, enterprises should consider environmental concerns in their operational strategies. This study identified how enterprises can successfully operate green brands, and focused on enterprises manufacturing daily necessities. Through a literature review, rules and an operational strategy were derived. Subsequently, 6 experts were interviewed and completed a questionnaire, then analytic hierarchy process was used to obtain the key success factors of green brands selling daily necessities. The resulting 10 key success factor findings provide a reference for enterprises seeking to act with social responsibility; develop high-quality green products, brands, and services; and protect the environment.

This article describes a structural examination of the interaction among different imaginative capacities and the entrepreneurial intention of electrical and computer engineering students. Two studies were combined to confirm the factor structure of survey items and test the hypothesised interaction model. The results indicated that imaginative capacity has 3 dimensions: conceiving, initiating, and transforming, whereas entrepreneurial intention comprises 2 factors: conviction and preparation. In addition, the results indicated that initiating imagination strongly affected entrepreneurial conviction and preparation; conceiving imagination positively predicted entrepreneurial conviction, whereas transforming imagination negatively predicted entrepreneurial preparation. The results also indicated that students possessing high, as well as those possessing low, conceiving and transforming imaginations demonstrated a high level of entrepreneurial preparation. In addition, an increase in transforming imagination increases the preparation of students possessing low initiating imagination and reduces the preparation of students possessing high initiating imagination. For developing a novel approach to conduct research on entrepreneurial intention and for discussing the practical implications of the findings, this study explicates alternative methods of cultivating students, promoting their interests, and enabling entrepreneurial behaviour in them by stimulating their imaginative capacities.

The research includes various constructs based on social exchange theory and social cognitive theory. This study mainly explored the relationships among organisational justice, trust, commitment and knowledge-sharing cognition and verified their mediating effects through two variables of trust and commitment. A survey utilising a questionnaire was used with 252 IT professionals from IT companies and departments in Taiwan. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data and to evaluate the research model. The results showed that the research model fitted the data well, and the main determinant of knowledge-sharing intention was the building of organisational justice between knowledge intensive workers, confirming our hypotheses that trust and commitment foster organisational commitment. In turn, organisational commitment will help to build individual knowledge-sharing self-efficacy and both directly and indirectly affect intentions to share knowledge. (Contains 6 tables and 2 figures.)

In this article, the author explores the market phenomenon revealed in the practice of a mixed-ability grouping policy in Taiwan, and traces the influence of the wider educational contexts on the formation of the market phenomenon. Although there have been no major policies introduced with the intention of creating a market mechanism in Taiwanese education, the author found that the practice of the mixed-ability grouping policy in junior high level education has been shadowed by a self-initiated market mechanism. Junior high school educators perceive that parents value a high entry rate to the highest ranking academic high schools, and junior high schools develop strategies to boost pupils' academic performance and to attract future pupils. Under such circumstances, junior high level schooling and students are commodified on the basis of a single value--academic performance. The author argues that wider educational contexts, including the senior high school entry examination, and control over the provision of senior high level education, shape the market phenomenon in Taiwanese junior high level education. (Contains 13 notes.)

The aim of this paper is to construct a notion of well-being in the workplace applicable to Taiwan society as an example of the Chinese cultural communities. The construction involves the following steps. Different domains of the well-being in the workplace are identified based on the results of workplace research. A set of integrative values combining universal values and Chinese values is constructed to serve as the ground for constructing the components of workplace well-being. Both the universal portion and the Chinese portion have a generic and a workplace-specific portion as their integrative parts. The values in effect help to define specific contents of the components, thus making them relevant and applicable to the Chinese culture. The construct serves as the basis to develop specific indicators to measure, monitor and assess well-being in the workplace. The construct of workplace well-being forms a part of the general well-being in business which contains various well-beings associated with the multiple stakeholders in the business communities--customers, shareholders, citizens, competitors, communities, and the environment. In today's globalized business environment, this construct is especially significant when more multinationals are operating with an increasingly multicultural workplace where people with different cultures communicate, cooperate and interact.

Taiwan government has initiated a five-year program since 2002: the National Science and Technology Program for e-Learning. The national program started from 2003 and was completed at the end of year 2007, involving thirteen government agencies. This paper describes the results that the national program has accomplished at its first phase, 2003 to 2007. The results include how the national program has helped enhance competitiveness of commerce; improved public welfare in Taiwan; and how the national program has stimulated the research outputs in both industry and academia. (Contains 14 tables and 1 figure.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper, which is written in two parts, is to investigate empirically if intellectual capital (IC) has an impact on the financial aspects of organisational performance as well as attempting to identify the IC components that may be the drivers for the leading financial indicators of listed companies. The study sought evidence from the companies of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Design/methodology/approach: Using data of all the constituent companies of the Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange from 2001 to 2005 and the VAIC[TM] methodology used in the measurement of IC by Pulic, regression models were constructed to examine the relationships between IC and the selected financial performance measures of these companies. The research hypotheses and research method are detailed in Part 1 of the paper. In this paper--Part 2, the results and findings of the investigation are analysed and discussed. Findings: The results of the analysis revealed no conclusive evidence to support a definitive association between IC, as measured by VAIC[TM], and the four measures of financial performance in the sample companies surveyed in Hong Kong. At best, only a moderate association was recorded between IC and the profitability measures. The study further revealed that physical capital is highly regarded by the companies surveyed for enhancing market valuation, productivity and profitability. Research limitations/implications: Evidence from Hong Kong shows that there is an overall lack of association between IC and financial performance, which contradicts some prior studies conducted overseas. This may suggest that Hong Kong may be lagging behind, for example, some Asian competitors such as Taiwan and Singapore in IC development. In addition, the empirical results suggest that physical capital continues to play a prominent role in the territory, which may be an indication of Hong Kong's ongoing reliance on "tangibles" as the strategic asset to generate corporate performance. These findings may, however, illustrate that the association between IC and financial indicators such as market valuation may not be a universal and uniform one. Rather, the association may vary from market to market, probably depending on the level of IC awareness in the investors. Originality/value: It is believed that this is the first study conducted in Hong Kong involving the use of VAIC[TM] for the measurement of IC. It not only contributes to the knowledge of IC research, but adds to the existing literature of the progress of IC development in relation to financial performance in companies internationally. [For Part 1, see EJ856924.]

The evolution of the internet has made online portals a popular means of surfing the internet. In internet commerce, understanding the post-adoption behaviour of users of online portals can help enterprises to attract new users and retain existing customers. For predicting continued use intentions, this empirical study focused on applying and modifying the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory to explore the use of a Chinese web portal (Yahoo-Kimo). The empirical results indicate that each of the innovation characteristics (compatibility, relative advantage, complexity and playfulness) significantly affect the continued use intentions of adopters. In determining continued use intentions, males were more influenced by relative advantage than females, while females were more influenced by perceived playfulness than males. Compatibility is the strongest factor to influence both male and female adopters' continued use intentions for online portals. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)

Problem: No systematic research has been conducted about loss of face in Chinese business culture. General research questions: What causes Chinese businesspeople to lose face when conducting business intraculturally and interculturally? Setting: People's Republic of China. Participants: 34 Chinese businesspeople from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Methods: Structured open-ended interviews. Main findings: In intracultural business the major causes of loss of face were public criticism and rejection, with mild responses to loss of face except when subordinates caused superiors to lose face and sometimes when a peer caused another peer to lose face. In intercultural business the major causes of loss of face were foreigners' arrogance, politics and international events, and foreigners' criticism, with most responses to loss of face being minor. Recommendations: Recommendations are provided for businesspeople operating in the Chinese environment and for researchers conducting investigations about face in Chinese business culture.

Organizational learning (OL) is about how individuals collect, absorb, and transform information into organizational memory and knowledge. This case study explored how six high-technology firms in Taiwan chose OL as an organization development intervention strategy. Issues included how best to implement OL; how individuals, teams, and organizations learn; and the extent to which OL activities contributed to organizational performance. Five themes emerged as findings: (1) using language with which employees are familiar, (2) implementing OL concepts that are congruent with employees' work or personal life, (3) putting individual learning first and diffusing it to team learning and organizational learning, (4) using the knowledge management system to create an opportunity for individuals, teams, and the organization to learn, and (5) linking OL to organizational strategy to improve organizational performance. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

The aim of this comparative study is to analyze the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) design curriculum policies in Taiwan and Thailand, focusing on their potential impact on national development. The research examines three key areas: 1) STEM educational development policies; 2) curriculum frameworks; and 3) teacher professional development. The methods employed in this study include a comprehensive review of relevant literature, policy documents, and curriculum frameworks from both Taiwan and Thailand. The analysis involves a comparative approach to identify similarities, differences, and best practices in STEM education policies and implementation strategies. The results indicate that both Taiwan and Thailand recognize the importance of STEM education for driving innovation and economic growth. However, Taiwan demonstrates a more comprehensive STEM policy framework and a stronger commitment to developing a skilled workforce. Taiwan’s curriculum framework emphasizes hands-on, project-based learning, interdisciplinary integration, and the incorporation of modern technologies, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaborative skills among students. In contrast, Thailand is in the early stages of establishing STEM regulations and aligning curricula with industry needs. Thailand’s evolving curriculum framework shows promise in promoting creativity, critical thinking, and practical problem-solving abilities. Regarding teacher professional development, Taiwan has a well-established system of ongoing training and industry-school collaboration, while Thailand is in the process of creating a STEM teacher competency program. The key conclusion of this study is that Taiwan’s well-developed STEM policy framework, with its focus on curriculum design and teacher professional development, demonstrates a more holistic approach to promoting STEM education compared to Thailand. Despite Thailand’s early stage of implementation, the country is showing encouraging progress in aligning its STEM policies with national development goals. The findings suggest that a comprehensive and integrated approach to STEM education, encompassing policy development, curriculum design, and teacher professional development, is crucial for effectively promoting economic growth and innovation in both Taiwan and Thailand.