Translating sales effort into service performance: it's an emotional ride

It has been broadly assumed by both researchers and managers that the more effort salespeople exert, the better their performance outcomes are likely to be. However, organizations are placing an increasing emphasis not just on objective sales outcomes, but on subjective, customer service outcomes as well. This research tests relationships between employee effort and relational performance. We develop and test the position that employee effort reaches a point of diminishing returns, after which relational performance decreases. Further, in an effort to bound our model, we test the moderating role played by employees' emotional intelligence in this relationship. We test our study model in a lagged, multisource field study, matching survey data collected from 107 employees and 19 supervisors, relational performance metrics, and archived effort data collected for a period of 3 months pre–survey data collection. The results from our analysis indicate that the relationship between effort and relational performance is captured by an inverted U-shaped function that is significantly moderated by emotional intelligence. We find that the effort of employees with low EI reaches an identifiable point of diminishing returns; however, the more effort those with high EI exert, the better their relational performance outcomes tend to be.     

Salesperson ambidexterity and customer satisfaction: examining the role of customer demandingness,adaptive selling,and role conflict

This research investigates the effects of sales-service ambidexterity on salesperson role perceptions, behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Using a business-to-business, salesperson-customer sample, we build and test a model which highlights both the positive and negative consequences of this simultaneous goal pursuit. Specifically, while sales-service ambidexterity positively impacts adaptive selling behaviors, it also increases perceptions of role conflict among salespeople. Customer demandingness moderates these relationships. Taken together, the results provide insights for firms on how to manage their sales force to optimize both sales and service outcomes based on characteristics of their salespeople and customers.     

Perception of alternated speech operates similarly in young and older adults with age-normal hearing

When speech is rapidly alternated between the two ears, intelligibility declines as the rate of alternation approaches 3 to 5 switching cycles per second, and then, paradoxically, returns to a good level beyond that point. We tested intelligibility when shadowing was used as a response measure (Experiment 1), when recall was used as a response measure (Experiment 2), and when time-compression was used to vary the speech rate of the presented materials (Experiment 3). In spite of claims that older adults are generally slower in switching attention, younger and older adults did not differ in the critical alternation rates producing minimal intelligibility. We suggest that the point of minimal intelligibility in alternated speech reflects an interaction between (1) the rate of disruption induced by breaking the speech stream between two sound sources, (2) the amount of contextual information per ear, and (3) the size of the silent gaps separating the speech elements that must be perceptually bridged.     

Neurocognitive Functioning in AD/HD,Predominantly Inattentive and Combined Subtypes

The Predominantly Inattentive (PI) and Combined (CB) subtypes of AD/HD differ in cognitive tempo, age of onset, gender ratio, and comorbidity, yet a differentiating endophenotype has not been identified. The aim of this study was to test rigorously diagnosed PI, CB, and typical children on measures selected for their potential to reveal hypothesized differences between the subtypes in specific neurocognitive systems (anterior vs. posterior attentional systems) and processes (arousal vs. activation). Thirty-four CB and 26 PI children meeting full DSM-IV criteria for subtype both in school and at home, without confounding reading disability or emotional disorder, were enrolled along with 20 typically developing children. Neurocognitive functions measured included attention, inhibitory control, working memory, learning, and executive functions. Tasks included the Stroop, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Continuous Performance Test (CPT). Buschke Selective Reminding Test, ad the Tower of London (TOL), as well as instruments developed by Posner and Sternberg, and tasks assessing the impact on reaction time of [corrected] varying preparatory intervals and stimulus/response complexity. After co-varying for IQ, subtypes differed primarily on measures of impulsivity during tests of vigilance (CPT) and executive function (TOL), with the CB group showing greater impulsivity than both other groups. In addition, the PI group showed worse performance than CB and control groups on the WISC-III Processing Speed Index. Whether analyzed with or without an IQ co-variate, there was no support in the data for hypothesized differences between subtypes in functioning of the anterior vs. posterior attentional systems, nor in involvement of arousal vs. activation processes. The results indicate that the PI and CB subtypes are best differentiated by ratings, observations and tests of cognitive tempo and behavioral impulsivity. Neuropsychological methods have yet to identify critical neuropsychological [corrected] substrates of these differences.     

Semantic clustering as a neuropsychological predictor for amnestic-MCI

ABSTRACT

Recent research has demonstrated that patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show deficits in semantic processing when compared to cognitively healthy individuals. This difference is thought to be attributed to losses in higher cortical systems that are predominantly associated with executive functioning. The first aim of the study will be to determine if differences in semantic clustering can accurately differentiate patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) from cognitively normal (CN) individuals. The second aim will be to determine the extent to which semantic processing might be associated with executive functions. Data from 202 (134 CN, 68 aMCI) participants were analyzed to quantify differences in semantic clustering ratios on the HVLT-R. Study participants ages ranged from 51 to 87 with education ranging from 6 to 20 years. ANCOVA revealed statistically significant differences on semantic clustering ratios (p < .001). Moderate correlations between semantic clustering Category Fluency Test (r = .45) were also found. Statistically significant group differences were also present on Trails-B and WAIS-R Digit Symbol performance (p < .001). Overall, these data indicate that deficits in semantic clustering are present in aMCI patients.     

Influence of precipitation of intermetallics on Young's modulus in nickel and zirconium base alloys

The influence of precipitation of intermetallic phases on changes in Young's modulus in nickel and zirconium base alloys is discussed. This study shows clearly for the first time that the change in the modulus due to precipitation of intermetallic phases in these alloys is essentially governed by the change in the modulus of the matrix due to removal of precipitation forming elements, and not by the modulus of the precipitated intermetallics or the matrix/intermetallic interface.     

Avian Artistry: Decoding the Intertextuality Between Mahābhārata and Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa

International Journal of Hindu Studies - Why do four birds narrate the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa? Narrative enframement plays a crucial role in contextualizing Sanskrit...     

Gender and Suicide in India: A Multiperspective Approach

The gap between male and female suicide rates in India is relatively small. However, society's views on female and male motives are quite different. In order to investigate the perceptions of male and female suicide, we interviewed a focus group of university professors as well as police inspectors, crime reporters, and hospital nurses in Bangalore. We also obtained four narratives of suicide. Women tended to be blamed for their own or their husband's suicide, although they were also viewed more often as victims of life adversities than men. A historical review illustrates that both men and women have been associated with culturally sanctioned suicides. One known form is sati, and we discuss the recent case of sari-murder of Roop Kanwar in 1987. The social sciences and the media also pay a lot of attention to the typical female suicides, symbolizing their role as martyrs of society, which seems to compensate for attribution of blame.