The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship最新文献

{"title":"Managers' Remote Work and Expertise across Cultures","authors":"C. Reis","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00007","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionRemote management is currently a routine task in organizational life. However, at any given time, some of an organization's members will struggle with personal challenges, such as remote management of cross-cultural environments and local entrepreneurship.While a manager's remote-work emphasis is on virtual-team performance, the need to attend to conflicts, communication, and cultural perspectives has grown considerably in recent years (e.g., Mulki et al., 2009; Maznevski et al., 2000); the herein presented understanding of individual managers' remote work-such as sending instructions from A to B-implies that their managerial inputs arrive in cross-cultural environments without those managers' physical displacement. This study examines the unique expertise that enables managers to implement their cross-cultural projects remotely, since little research into this topic yet exists. It also explores this question through an inductive, interviewbased study of remote managers working for the United States Government in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, it identifies circumstances that engender such managers' work expertise in virtual workplaces where work is divided according to space, time, and performance pressures.Significantly, this article adopts a Bourdieuian organizational perspective, focusing on the situated, everyday activities of managers' remote work. This allows for the recognition of objective structures and subjective experiences as important aspects of distance-management dynamics that must be understood. The Bourdieuian organizational perspective involves looking at situated activities in order to comprehend contextual circumstances. This perspective emphasizes the relationships that emerge between organizational contexts and component behavior (individuals and groups) and examines how these relationships affect outcomes (House, Rouseau and Thomas-Hunt, 1995).From the aforementioned perspective, then, this analysis examines the significant mechanisms that emerge from managers' remote-work expertise apropos of implementing projects, specifically local enterprises, in cross-cultural organizational contexts. The cross-cultural implementation of a project has certain performance implications for both individuals and enterprises. The complexity of this situation is greater when projects are supervised remotely because this requires cross-cultural management expertise in understanding local individuals and enterprises-an unexamined form of work whose study can strengthen management and entrepreneurship theories and practices.The following sections review theories and research underpinning the theoretical framework for this study's stated focus on the in-context management of local small enterprises. Interviews with government contractors and supervisors (remote managers) constitute a portion of this analysis to aid in theorizing links between managers' remote work and a set of project-implementation mechanisms, with a view to describ","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"61 1","pages":"97-118"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84559320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Controlling Unintended Growth: An Exploratory Study of Coping with Unintended Growth in Small and Medium-sized Firms","authors":"Martin Senderovitz, M. R. Evald","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.ju.00004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.ju.00004","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionA significant number of studies on firm growth based on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been published (Davidsson, Achtenhagen, and Naldi, 2010; Senderovitz, 2011). Similarly, much is known about the external and internal drivers of firm growth-and about the barriers that prevent firms from realizing desired growth (Storey, 2011; Davidsson and Wiklund, 2000; Goffee and Scase, 1995; Reynolds, Bygrave, and Autio, 2003). Studies show that growth intentions and organizational capabilities as well as favorable, external, contextual circumstances are among key drivers of growth. Conversely, lack of growth is mainly due to internal lack of resources and/or capabilities or unfavorable, external, contextual circumstances that hinder the (desired) growth of the small firm. The underlying belief is that SMEs and their owner-managers do, indeed, have a desire to grow their business if and when they have the means and opportunities to do so (Davidsson and Wiklund, 2000; O'Regan, Ghobadian, and Gallear, 2006; Storey, 2011). However, other studies reveal that it may be equally relevant to examine socio-cultural factors to determine why some SMEs stay small. Studies show that a large number of small firms remain small and that the owner-managers of a large share of these firms have no desire to grow (Penrose, 1959/95; Burns, 1989; Birley, 1996; Vickery, 1989). These firms deliberately avoid growth and thus stay small (Davidsson, 1989).In contrast to these well-documented situations, there is an additional growth situation that has not previously received much attention in the literature: the situation in which growth in SMEs occurs without explicit growth intentions and when growth is perceived as being problematic. Through an explorative, in-depth case study (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2003) this study shows how SMEs may tackle growth in situations in which their organization is growing organically despite lacking growth intentions, and in which the firm perceives growth as problematic and unwanted. In these situations, owner-managers employ different coping strategies in their efforts to control or constrain growth.Growth literature has demonstrated that small, growing firms face a wide range of organizational and managerial challenges (Greiner, 1972; Churchill and Lewis, 1983; Hofer and Charan, 1984). Moreover, despite numerous theoretical arguments in favor of firm growth, growth may not always be perceived as a positive development by the management of smaller firms (Davidsson, Steffens, and Fitzsimmons, 2009; Senderovitz, Klyver, and Steffens, 2015). This study supports the notion that there may be good and sound reasons why an SME/owner-manager may see growth as unwanted and problematic. However, it also shows how unintended and unwanted growth can be handled successfully or at least constrained so that the perceived obstacles and challenges associated with growth can be overcome.The results of the explorative case study show that m","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"2 1","pages":"36-56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79441639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pilot to Profit: Navigating Modern Business Entrepreneurship to Build Your Own Business Using Online Marketing, Social Media, Content Marketing and Sales","authors":"Dena Hale","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00011","url":null,"abstract":"Lisa Larter Pilot to Profit: Navigating Modern Business Entrepreneurship to Build Your Own Business Using Online Marketing, Social Media, Content Marketing and Sales Morgan James Publishing (2016) $17.95 (paperback), 185 pagesPilot to profit: navigating modern Business Entrepreneurship to Build Your Own Business Using Online Marketing, Social Media, Content Marketing and Sales, is an instructive paperback that communicates the steps for new entrepreneurs from thought conception to opening the doors. The author, Lisa Larter, is a successful entrepreneur turned business coach who consults with businesses around the world through her web-based training, Pilot to Profit. More details regarding her program, and the foundation of this book, can be found at http:// lisalarter.com/programs.Over the course of 12 chapters, the author shares her insights from personal experience and trials. The firm basis of the book is that success in entrepreneurial endeavors begins with the entrepreneur's internal assessment. The first four chapters make up the first section regarding the author's \"Profit Principles\", which leads the reader to first sell themselves on the success of the idea (Chapter 1), gaining the right mindset and perspective of money (Chapter 2), properly defining the business model (Chapter 3), and knowing what really matters so you can measure success (Chapter 4). The second section, \"Content Principles\", made up of Chapters 5 and 6, focuses on the content of the business message. This is followed by a three chapter section, \"Social Principles\", where the author leads readers through foundational principles needed for a sound social media presence. In Chapter 10, which makes up the fourth section, the author reiterates the importance of the entrepreneur being involved and engaged in the selling process of the business. The book concludes with a discussion of the author's Pilot Project (Chapter 11) and resources from the author to assist readers to learn more (Chapter 12).The book shares some important insights for the beginning entrepreneur or the \"would-be\" entrepreneur. Anyone who considers starting a business can certainly benefit from reading Pilot to Profit. However, the book is most appropriate for women-owned businesses or women thinking about starting a company. The first section of the book is encouraging, engaging and instructional on overcoming self-doubt and worry. The discussion on developing the right mindset about money and ways to overcome fears of owning a business set the foundations of success. The author shares her personal experiences of fear, failure, and success which provide a great level of credibility with the reader.The strength of the book is solidified in the author's sharing of principles for successful marketing of the business using social media. The author provides best practices for selecting the right content used in the marketing message, stating that \" . …","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"41 1","pages":"131-132"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87577192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Taxonomy of Behavior in Organizational Settings: The Implications of Moral Identity Congruence","authors":"Curtis Matherne, Vanessa Hill, J. Hamilton","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00006","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionThe notion of identity has shaped the behavior of individuals throughout the course of time, and is \"arguably more fundamental to the conception of humanity than any other notion\" (Gioia, 1998, p. 17). Theories of identity and social identity suggest that individual behavior is regulated by a sense of who one perceives oneself to be and the memberships in various groups one perceives important. As noted by Ashforth and Mael (1989), a referent organization may provide the answer to an individual's question of \"Who am I?\" Multiple scholars have offered definitions of organizational identification to explain the association individuals have with their respective organizations. Even though these definitions may differ to some extent, it is broadly agreed that organizational identification demands some sort of deep association between the individual and an organization, in which the individual recognizes him- or herself as sharing communal attributes with a specific group or organization (Ashforth and Mael, 1989; Dutton, Dukerich and Harquail, 1994; Pratt, 1998).Extant research explicates one specific basis for individual identity that is of particular interest here, one's moral identity. Moral identity has been conceptualized as a \"set of common moral traits likely to be central to most people's moral self-definition\" (Aquino and Reed, 2002, p. 1424). In particular, the importance of one's moral identity to one's self concept has been linked to inter-group relations (Aquino, Ray, and Reed, 2003), charitable giving (Reynolds and Ceranic, 2007) and truth-telling (Aquino, Ray and Reed, 2003), as well as higher levels of moral engagement (Detert, Trevino and Sweitzer, 2008). Research has also shown that the relationship between one's moral identity and behavior in specific circumstances is not fixed and immutable (Appiah, 2008). Behavior contrary to a person's self-concept can be triggered by external factors such as ambient sounds or smells and internal conditions such as fatigue (Appiah, 2008), conditions that threaten safety and security (Narvaez, 2008), the behaviors of others (Haidt, 2007; Haidt and Bjorkland, 2008a, b) and the \"frame\" or context within which one conceptualizes the circumstances or situation (Tenbrunsel and Messick, 2004; Tennbrunsel and Smith Crowe, 2008).In addition to literature on the concept of individual moral identity, researchers have begun to address the notion of organizational moral identity. Although prior works have investigated congruence in terms of fit and identification in organizations (Haslam, 2001; Hatch and Schultz, 1997, 2000, 2002), organizational research has not explicitly explored congruence in terms of moral identity. Here, we suggest that this congruence or incongruence will affect productive behaviors such as citizenship behaviors as well as counterproductive behaviors such as organizational deviance in organizations. Perhaps more importantly, we argue that specific \"types\" of congruence and ","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"310 1","pages":"73-96"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91311293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most","authors":"J. Borden","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00010","url":null,"abstract":"Harry Hutson and Martha Johnson Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most Praeger (January 18, 2016) $37.00 (hardcover), 166 pagesLeaders can't afford to fall apart.IN NAVIGATING AN ORGANIZATIONAL CRISIS, Harry Hutson and Martha Johnson teach that even the best disaster preparations are too often insufficient for events of the greatest consequence, and for which the most is expected from organizational leaders. Extraordinary events have inundated organizations just as significantly as rogue waves that have been known to top lighthouses. The authors breathe life into a variety of powerful stories of leaders standing firmly at the helm while navigating uncharted waters. From the 2008 financial crisis to a contamination crisis at Genzyme, from instances of racism at the University of Oklahoma to the rescue of IBM from bankruptcy, the authors pull from more than three decades of experience as leadership coaches to craft a book for anyone who aspires to lead at any organizational level.In each of the first five chapters, the reader is introduced by example to five prototypical stages whereby leaders take the reins and steer their organizations through crisis: Respond, Reflect, Reach, Restore and Renew. The book opens with a true rogue wave story to portray the need to put a name to the event in order to respond directly and resolutely. The boat of Alaskan crabber Kale Garcia was unexpectedly and violently struck by an estimated 60-foot wave, which by Kale's recollection \"...ripped open the front of the wheelhouse and peeled it back like a can opener.\" The authors use this and other provocative examples to characterize their archetype of organizational catastrophe: A rogue wave that is sudden, spontaneous, and that has significant impact to any organization in its path. September 11. Oklahoma City. Hurricane Katrina. These catastrophic events and others provide a backdrop for the reader to appreciate the magnitude of the personal and professional challenges that today's leaders have faced, and that tomorrow's leaders cannot hope to avoid. Speaking directly to the need for leaders to lead during crisis, the authors conclude the introductory chapter by making clear that, in such an emergency, \"...you will need every bit of you at the helm\".In each of the subsequent chapters, Hutson and Johnson relay stories that personify appropriate leadership behavior during organizational crisis. Leaders must first respond to the crisis. The authors quote the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, who advises that the objective of a proper response \"...should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out, and get it over.\" Just as important is to name the issue. \"Weak leaders who don't/won't/can't name disasters are problematic.\" A stark example is provided that clearly describes the authors' meaning. When video surfaced of a fraternity at the University of Oklahoma singing a racist chant, University President David Boren moved swiftly to name \"...rac","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"25 1","pages":"128-130"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84849824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“What, Exactly , is Entrepreneurial Commitment?”: Modeling the Commitment of Successful Entrepreneurs","authors":"R. Tasnim, H. Singh","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.JU.00003","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionIf you deny yourself commitment, what can you do with your life? (Harvey Fierstein).Entrepreneurship is risky. It is analogous to being a lone captain of a boat, in the open and violent seas, on a seemingly endless journey to a land unknown and perhaps, unimaginable. Before take-off, the captain often envisages this journey to be a smooth sailing endeavor, with failures predictably \"manageable\" along the way. More often, though, it is not. The real test occurs when the boat begins to leak, while the destination is yet thousands of miles away. Self-assured, the entrepreneur plasters the leak, and his journey recommences. But who would guarantee that his boat will never again leak? Or, that a bad storm would never take place? No one. It may leak more frequently than expected, and storms may recur each day. Often the entrepreneur faces extreme hardships along the way, frustratingly making him slow down. In reality, many entrepreneurs decide to abandon ship. They quit.What, exactly, makes a successful entrepreneur? What psychological mind-set is demanded for one to survive through the turbulent, dark seas, particularly in the first few years of venture seafaring? How then does this mind-set influence entrepreneurial behavior in the ensuing entrepreneurial phases? Does this psychological mind-set impact entrepreneurial performance? And, more importantly, if it does, what can be done to nurture and develop the psychological mind-set?We quite often hear people talking about \"commitment\". For instance, it is customary to hear people promoting commitment in the workplace, commitment of students preparing for exams, commitment in a marriage or relationship, and many other scenarios that requirement commitment. In other words, commitment seems to be a prerequisite to realize positive behaviors and valuable outputs in our daily activities, signifying that it is one of the most dominant psychological factors in shaping behavior and how an individual acts. The psychological mind-set of commitment is still debated across a myriad of research domains, including entrepreneurship. Many have argued its significance in the entrepreneurial process, and commitment is said to directly impact entrepreneurial performance. In short, the role commitment plays in entrepreneurship is widely supported.Nonetheless, although commitment is germane to the entrepreneurship literature, a handful of singularities still remain to be demystified. For instance, what, exactly, shapes entrepreneurial commitment? How does the \"committed mind-set\" influence entrepreneurial behavior and more precisely, entrepreneurial performance? More importantly, since commitment plays a key role in the entrepreneurship process, how then is it possible for us to cultivate a committed mind-set among prospective entrepreneurs? These are among the questions that will contribute to the wealth of academic literature and practical managerial implications throughout this research.In the following sec","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"3 1","pages":"6-35"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81823869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don't Waste Your Time and Money","authors":"April J. Spivack","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.ju.00012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.ju.00012","url":null,"abstract":"Pat Flynn Will it Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea so You Don't Waste Your Time and Money Flynn Industries, LLC (2016) $15.25 (paperback), 335 pagesWILL IT FLY? HOW TO Test Your Next Business Idea so You Don't Waste Your Time and Money, is an intriguing paperback \"think\" book for aspiring entrepreneurs. This book is widely accessible, using common language, rather than terminology familiar to business or entrepreneurship students, graduates, or researchers. The practical hands-on approach provides a manageable to-do list for the reader to vet their business idea(s) before making a substantial investment in a full business launch, whether via time or money. The author, Pat Flynn, is the founder of Smart Passive Income, a website devoted to assisting others in building successful internet-based businesses. His work has been featured in Forbes and the New York Times. Additional information on the author can be found at http://smartpassiveincome.com/about.Organizationally, the book features 19 chapters organized into five parts. It also comes with an invitation to access the free online companion course, which is a series of short videos and supplementary content to complement the chapters of the book. The font size, line spacing, and use of screen shot images of websites or software programs, propel the reader quickly through the book and make it an easy read. However, it is not likely that the read will go as quickly as the espoused 3½ hours mentioned in the Foreword for most readers, especially if the time to complete the series of \"tests\" is included in the time commitment calculation.The author uses flight analogies to guide the content of the book and engages the reader early on with a personal anecdote of teaching his son how to make a paper airplane. Similar to the endeavor of building a flight-worthy paper airplane, the author explains the process of testing one's business idea(s) preflight. In that vein, the author subjects the reader to a series of \"tests,\" which actually are not tests, in terms of comprehension, but instead are thought activities that serve as a feasibility analysis.In Part one (Chapters 1 through 5), the author guides the reader to first use a variety of visioning exercises to determine what type of business would be most feasible for that individual to pursue. By building an awareness of the consideration of fit between the entrepreneur and the business endeavor itself, the author aims to steer the entrepreneur away from investing in a business that fails to align with an individual's passions or long-term life vision. In other words, the author first focuses the nascent entrepreneur on the question of, \"how well does this business idea align with my own personal goals and passions?\"Part two (Chapters 6 through 9) guide the nascent entrepreneur through a series of exercises aimed at developing a well-articulated business idea. The underlying assumption of this section is that the aspiring entrepreneur will \"wast","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"1 1","pages":"133-135"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86412301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Book Review: Corporate Stewardship: Achieving Sustainable Effectiveness","authors":"C. Eason","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.AP.00009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.AP.00009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"27 1","pages":"119-121"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87472705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Book Review: High-Impact Human Capital Strategy: Addressing the 12 Major Challenges Today’s Organizations Face","authors":"Heather S. McMillan","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.AP.00011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.AP.00011","url":null,"abstract":"High-Impact Human Capital Strategy Addressing the 12 Major Challenges Today's Organizations Face Edited by Jack J. Phillips and Patricia Pulliam Phillips AMACOM, 2015, $33 (hardcover), 304 pagesJACK AND PATTI PHILLIPS HAVE dedicated their professional lives to building accountability into human resources and training departments through the development of the ROI Methodology. The ROI Methodology has been used in over 66 countries and within a variety of Fortune 500 organizations across multiple industries.High-Impact Human Capital Strategy was written as a guidebook for practitioners who want to go beyond traditional human resource management in an ever-changing environment. The authors maintain that \"no function, process, or issue in an organization is more important than the human capital managed by the HR department\" (p. vii). Further, human capital strategy is critical to all organizations, whether public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit, and governments. As an example, Phillips and Phillips contend that a major cause of the financial crisis in Greece stemmed from human capital issues manifested through bloated payrolls, excessive benefits, and a lack of accountability.A relatively quick read at 304 pages, this book does not have to be read straight through in order to be valuable. The first two chapters of the book are background chapters, focusing on the importance of human capital strategy (Chapter 1) and historical approaches to human capital strategy (Chapter 2). I recommend reading Chapter 1 before reading any other chapter since Phillips and Phillips make a compelling argument for the necessity of human capital strategy. In an environment where replacing people with machines is a common concern for employees, and managers often consider people a necessary evil for doing business, the authors maintain that investment in people is always necessary, but may vary based upon the level of automation. Their arguments for mandatory investment are interesting, for they are essentially advocating a \"right-sizing\" philosophy. They suggest: 1) that minimizing numbers of employees is not necessarily bad because it can increase efficiency and employee welfare and create motivating jobs; 2) that investment in people is necessary at some level, as decisions must be made and problems solved; and 3) that people with higher skill sets are necessary even in highly automated workplaces, and organizations that use automation to eliminate low-skill jobs while creating high-skill jobs add the most value to the economy.The remaining 12 chapters of the book are built around the 12 goals the authors maintain are necessary for HR to increase its influence and ultimately its reputation in organizations. The 12 goals chosen by the authors align with their ROI Methodology and other publications. 1) \"Set the Proper Investment Level\" sets the optimal investment level for human capital and reviews this expenditure periodically. 2) \"Align with Business Needs\" al","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"28 1","pages":"125-127"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83319272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Book Review: Funny Business: Harnessing the Power of Play to Give Your Company A Competitive Advantage","authors":"Brandon C. L. Morris","doi":"10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.ap.00010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2016.ap.00010","url":null,"abstract":"Funny Business Harnessing the Power of Play to Give Your Company A Competitive Advantage Edited by Christopher Byrne, Career Press, 2015, $15.99 (paperback), 222 pages (including appendixes)FUNNY BUSINESS, by christopher byrne, is not a comedy but a thoughtful treatise on how the principles of children's play can be used to foster innovation, creativity, and productivity in the modern workplace. Byrne describes play as a natural process that starts by asking the question, \"What if?\", and then allowing yourself to be open to whatever lies next. Christopher Byrne is clearly an expert on the subject of play with more than 30-years of experience as a researcher, marketing analyst, and consultant in the toy industry. He is a partner in aNb Media, LLC and content director for TTPM (Toys, Tots, Pets, & More). Byrne is well-published in the area of toys and play, and has recently authored two related books, Toy Time and Serious Fun: An Introduction to the U.S. Toy Industry. Byrne employs his vast experience by loading each topic with meaningful real-world examples of how the principles of play lead to success or how ignoring these principles can lead to unfavorable results.For children, play is a fundamental development tool. Play is limitless, unstructured time where spontaneous ideas are followed by action without necessarily knowing what the outcome is until the action is taken. During developmental years, play provides children new experiences, gives them space to explore their world and express themselves. So, why then is play a bad thing for adults-rather than a lifelong habit? Byrne argues that in our culture \"play\" is considered a bad word when referring to adults. Play suggests immaturity, childishness, lacking seriousness, unprofitable, pleasure-centered, or lazy. Perhaps the stigma is the result of something that was written nearly 2,000 years ago by St. Paul, \"When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child, but when I became a man I put away childish things\" (Corinthians 13:11). Byrne suggests that this is seriously misguided advice because play is essentially about harnessing the creative forces within each of us to make up the stories of our lives, just as a child would make up a story about her favorite hero. The goal of Funny Business is to teach adults the art of play.The author begins the book by defining play in his terms. In Chapter 1, \"Defining Play\", Byrne describes play as a process of learning and a lifestyle of action without fear. Using the analogy of children's play, Byrne reduces the process of play to a series of statements and questions: (1) What's up? (2) What if...? (3) I don't know. (4) You want to find out? (5) Sure, what do you want to do? (6) Okay, let's try that. (7) How did that turn out? (8) You want to do that again? (9) What do you want to do now? Responding to each of these questions honestly and without fear is the process of true play.It is reasonable to assume that i","PeriodicalId":90357,"journal":{"name":"The journal of applied management and entrepreneurship","volume":"27 1","pages":"122-124"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87754324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}