The effectiveness of Japanese styles of management: A review and critique

A detailed review is presented of studies bearing on the performance and effectiveness of Japanese managers, with particular attention to comparative data. Japanese managers within Japan are found to show continuing marked differences from those within other countries. These differences are not easily conceptualized within established Western models of management style and systems of decision making, and are thus frequently misunderstood. Japanese firms in the West are found to utilize only some of the practices used in Japan. Researchers in this field have often failed to distinguish between the occurrence of a particular behaviour and the manner in which it is interpreted within and between particular cultures. The similarities and differences between effective management in Japan and in the West will only become clear when studies are undertaken which make such distinctions.     

REVISITING MET EXPECTATIONS AS A REASON WHY REALISTIC JOB PREVIEWS WORK

This study reanalyzed data from an examination by Hom, Griffeth, Palich, and Bracker (1998) of the mechanisms by which posthire realistic job previews reduce turnover. Irving and Meyer (1999) argued that Hom et al. overstated support for their mediation theory by calculating residual difference scores (errors derived from predicting experienced attainment of job outcomes from initial expectations of outcomes) to operationalize met expectations. Rather, Irving and Meyer showed that methodological weaknesses associated with difference scores also plague residual difference scores. Prompted by their demonstration, this research applied partial correlations (partialing out experienced outcomes from residual differences) and Edwards' (1994) polynomial regression approach to verify whether met expectations underlie realistic previews' effectiveness. These reanalyses disputed met expectations. As a result, this inquiry revised the formulation advocated by Hom et al. (1998), positing that coping strategies and perceptions of employer concern account for how posthire previews work.     

Experimenting with Family Treatment Approaches to Alcoholism, 1950–1975: A Review

The attention given family therapy approaches to alcoholism has been disproportionately low in relation to the magnitude of alcohol abuse as a clinical problem and its acknowledged impact on family life. Although the literature to date is limited and most studies should be characterized as pilot in nature, preliminary results have enthusiastically endorsed family therapy approaches to alcoholism. This critical review assesses the existing experimental and clinical literature of the past 25 years. It also offers potential explanations for the reluctance of family therapists to engage this problem more actively.     

Task influences on judgemental forecasting

This study investigates the effect of imminence, time duration and subjective desirability on judgemental forecasts. People were found to be more sure of specified events happening in a one-month time period subsequent to an imminent one-month period. The time duration of a forecast period, one month versus two months, had no effect on forecasting response and performance and any effect of the subjective desirability of an event on its perceived likelihood was negligible. Although evidence of the consistency of individual forecasting response and performance was obtained, individual measures of coherence in probability assessment were not related to forecasting performance. A measure of the subjective difficulty of the forecasting task was not related to forecasting performance, indicating that attempts to re-scale forecasting responses to improve forecasting performance on the basis of subjective difficulty are inappropriate.     

A German Attack on Applied Ethics [1]: A statement by Peter Singer

ABSTRACT In Germany, applied ethics is under attack from a diverse coalition of left-wing organisations, disability groups, and some conservative defenders of a strict doctrine of the sanctity of human life. The attack has been pressed to the point of forcing the cancellation of conferences and disrupting lectures or classes so that they cannot take place. This essay describes the extent and nature of the attack, and makes a preliminary assessment of its significance.     

The Kirton Adaption Innovation Inventory Find Group Problem Solving Success Rates

The findings are the result of a four year study tracking the problem solving success rates of 952 managers comprising 119 different 8-person teams: each team consisting of a 4-member planning team and a 4-member implementing team. Unknown to the participants, each subteam was arranged according to their Kirton Adaption Innovation Inventory (KAI) into homogeneous subteams either similar to or dissimilar from the other subteam. It was found that coordination of subteam role (task) with KAI type significantly increased group success rates, and that placing KAI types outside of role preference resulted in significantly lower success rates. An exception to the subgroup role results occurred when the KAI types were performing tasks outside of their preferred style, and the KAI subgroup means were similar. In this case, significantly elevated success rates were found, probably due to enhanced interteam communication.