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ABSTRACT To investigate if a manager's basic leadership style moderates subordinates' perceptions of decision effectiveness, an experiment involving 258 students was conducted. Leadership style (transformational or transactional) and decision-making behavior [...]

ABSTRACT The effects of power distance and individualism on perceptions of ethical intention were examined using data from New Zealand European and Malaysian Chinese commerce students. The aim was to [...]

Increasing demands are being placed on many public servants as civil service organizations seek to increase productivity and operate with fewer levels of management. Moves away from traditional bureaucratic organization structures are often accompanied by attempts to develop a more empowering culture. These typically involve leadership initiatives adapted from the private sector in areas such as vision, values, participation and trust. In order to be successful, however, such initiatives need to be supported by corresponding changes in the systems which underpin human resource management. One of the most important of these is the performance appraisal system. This article describes how performance appraisal can be used to assist in empowering employees, using as an example the Corporate Finance Office of the New Zealand Department of Social Welfare.

With careers increasingly taking place within and between cities, this article maps the territory for research and theory on careers in cities. Cities present a microcosm for advancing a systemic understanding of people's careers over time and in relation to broader issues. We acknowledge cities' multilayered contexts by identifying six spheres—locality and networks, material infrastructure, economic activities, non-work, virtual reconfiguration, and nexus of social change. The interplay between careers and these city spheres informs intertwined phenomena such as well-being, mobility, and migration. To guide further research, our framework distinguishes two meta-theoretical perspectives. An entity perspective examines causal relationships across levels, analyzing how urban characteristics explain career-related phenomena, and vice versa. A constructionist perspective examines how people's construal of careers in cities draws on cultural repertoires about work, non-work life, and the city, including its social, symbolic, and material aspects. We use the framework to discuss contributions of the five articles of this special issue. A career lens can contribute to our understanding of cities being sources of both stability and change. With cities currently facing significant disruptions, there has never been a more appropriate time for careers researchers to incorporate the city as context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial derivatives have been increasingly used by firms to hedge against financial risks. However, it is still not clear what factors at the firm level lead to firms' derivative use and whether derivative use can generate performance improvement, especially in the context of firms operating in emerging economies. Using the unbalanced panel data consisting of 2529 listed firms from China covering an 11-year period from 2005 to 2015, this study examines these two questions regarding firms' use of financial derivatives. Based on results from the empirical analysis, this study identified operational cash flow, tax shield, R&D investment, and the possibility of bankruptcy, as the firm-level factors that enable firms' decision to invest in financial derivatives. More importantly, empirical findings from this study suggest that a firm's derivative use tends to negatively affect firm performance, rather than improve firm performance. The negative effect of derivative use on firm performance is not consistent between the two groups of the better performer and poorer performer firms. While the poorly performed firms are more likely to use financial derivatives for the purpose of performance improvement, their derivative use tends to further damage, rather than improve, performance. These research findings have theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia, once known primarily for its commodity exports of tin and rubber, has grown rapidly into an important trading partner of both the United States and Europe. A large Islamic nation with a diverse population of Malays, Chinese, and Indians, it preserves many traditional values while adopting an increasingly international outlook. In this article, we use findings of the GLOBE study to identify important values of Malays, relating them to preferred organizational leadership styles. Malaysians place particular emphasis on collective well-being and display a strong humane orientation within a society that respects hierarchical differences. The culture inhibits assertive, confrontational behavior, giving priority to maintaining harmony. Effective leaders are expected to show compassion while using more of an autocratic than participative style. Expatriate managers need to avoid actions that are incompatible with these values and expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]