113 research outputs found
Subsidiary staffing and performance: the case of foreign multinationals in the U.S.
No full textInternational staffing is an important mechanism for the control and coordination of culturally and geographically dispersed operations of a multinational corporation. However literature on subsidiary staffing patterns and the search for the antecedents of subsidiary staffing has led to mixed results in the past. Moreover, the relation between subsidiary staffing and subsidiary performance has received very limited attention from researchers. Thus, this thesis is aimed at improving our understanding of the antecedents and outcomes of subsidiary staffing by addressing two research questions.
My first research question relates to the antecedents of subsidiary staffing. I explore the influence of cultural distance between home and host countries, uncertainty avoidance dimension of the home country's national culture, and dependence of the subsidiary on the headquarters on subsidiary staffing patterns. My second research question relates to whether there is a relation between how a subsidiary is staffed and how it performs. Within this question, I explore whether multinational corporations face a paradox when staffing culturally distant subsidiaries. Although the literature suggests that cultural distance leads to ethnocentric staffing patterns, I argue that this decision will lower subsidiary performance since cultural distance will also diminish the ability of parent country nationals to operate successfully in such an environment.
I test my model on a random sample of 52 foreign multinationals operating in the U.S. Although U.S. is the top recipient of foreign direct investment in the world, this population has not been studied in published international staffing studies, and thus is a valuable contribution to the emerging literature on this topic.
The results provide support for both of the research questions. All the three antecedents are significant predictors of the ratio of parent country nationals in the workforce. For the second research question, although there is no direct relation between subsidiary staffing and performance, this relation depends on the cultural distance between the U.S. and the home country. Ethnocentric staffing diminishes subsidiary performance significantly when cultural distance is high.M.S.Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-64)
Enhancing subsidiary absorptive capacity: the role of knowledge acquisition practices and intellectual capital
No full textDrawing from the absorptive capacity framework and the knowledge-based view of multinational corporations (MNCs), this dissertation explores linkages among knowledge acquisition practices, organizational learning, knowledge creation capability, and performance among a sample of US subsidiaries of multinational corporations operating in the manufacturing industry. Overall, data from 106 MNC subsidiaries located in the US and headquartered either in Europe or Japan support the predictions of this study and indicate that subsidiary performance is driven by both an internal and an external path of knowledge acquisition and learning. Specifically, results showed that internal and external knowledge acquisition practices were positively related to the learning of internal and external know-how respectively. Both internal and external learning, in turn, were positively related to a subsidiary’s knowledge creation capability, which, in turn, was positively related to subsidiaries’ performance in the US. However, the external learning–knowledge creation capability path was much stronger than the internal learning–knowledge creation path which was positive only under conditions of low external learning, low subsidiary social capital, and high subsidiary organizational capital. Several methods for testing mediated relationships converged on the finding that internal and external learning as well as knowledge creation capability carry the influence of internal and external knowledge acquisition practices to subsidiary competitive advantage through an indirect path.
Results, in general, did not support the predictions that intellectual capital positively moderates the relationship between learning and knowledge creation capability. Moreover, two of the three significant interactions of the relationship between internal learning and knowledge creation capability – social capital and external learning - were in the opposite direction of what was hypothesized - yielding to an unexpected pattern of findings. Only in the case of high organizational capital, the relationship between internal learning and knowledge creation capability was positively stronger. For the relationship between external learning and knowledge creation capability, none of the proposed intellectual capital moderators were significant.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-131)by Saba Colakogl
An empirical examination of personal learning within the context of teams.
No full textUsing a sample of 588 employees in 59 work teams, we tested a model that situates personal learning within the context of teams, viewing it as a joint function of teams’ leadership climate (i.e., transformational leadership) and task characteristics (i.e., task routineness and task interdependence). Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that the positive relationships between transformational leadership climate and the two dimensions of personal learning (relational job learning and personal skill development) were moderated by the nature of the teams’ tasks. Specifically, transformational leadership climate was more strongly associated with personal learning for members of teams working on tasks that were less routine, rather than more routine. However, no significant moderation was found for leadership climate and task interdependence. Our findings underscore the importance of taking into account the contextual conditions within which leadership influence occurs while also demonstrating the potential role that leaders can play in promoting employees’ personal learning. Overall, our study bolsters theories that conceptualize adult learning as a transaction between people and their social environments and points to a practical need to match leadership styles with team task characteristics to unleash transformational leadership effects.Peer reviewe
Fuzzy Rule Bases as a Tool of the History of Architecture: Application to the Analysis of Villas Designed by Adolf Loos
No full textThis article explores possibilities of using fuzzy models as a new research tool in the history of architecture. Namely, Adolf Loosis villas are studied using these models. Fuzzy expert models will be used to analyze the principles of Adolf Loosis work. Rules applied by A. Loos in villa design will be expressed in the form of fuzzy rule bases. The formulation of rules will result from the analysis of individual villa designs and will be based on theoretical concepts pertaining to Loosis work -- in particular, on his designing process drawing on the concept of a Raumplan. Further, the concepts of the theory of architecture, related to a general procedure of construction design, will be utilized. The article also gives examples how to employ fuzzy sets in describing a building and its characteristics
Algorithmic Form Generation for Crochet Technique
No full textIn architecture use of generative computation suggests a possibility of rethinking the form finding process. In order to generate form, one method could be predefining first the production technique and constraining the form by the rules of it. In this study crochet-knitting technique is chosen as a production technique. To explore various forms developed through this technique; a computational model, which the behavior of crochet-knitted surface is embedded into, is developed. This paper explains the process of decoding the behavior of a crochet-knitted surface for a computational model in order to extract the crochet-knitting patterns of complex geometrical surfaces
Cracking but not breaking: Joint effects of faultline strength and diversity climate on loyal behavior
No full textThis study examines the joint effects of diversity composition (as manifested in faultline strength) and diversity management (as manifested in diversity climate) on loyal behavior. Using data gathered from a sample of 1,652 managerial employees in 76 work units, we assess the cross-level effects of unit-level relationship- and task-related faultline strength and diversity climate on individual-level loyal behavior of managerial employees. We find a negative relationship between gender faultline strength and loyal behavior, and a positive relationship between diversity climate and loyal behavior. In addition, we find that work unit diversity climate moderates the relationships between the strength of gender and function faultlines and loyal behavior; specifically, a supportive diversity climate reduces the negative consequences associated with relationship-related faultlines and increases the positive consequences associated with task-related faultlines. The results highlight the value of simultaneously considering faultlines and diversity climate in understanding and managing workforce diversity.Peer reviewe
Czynniki wpływające na poziom tłumienia wewnętrznego w aluminium
No full textThe internal damping of metallic materials varies with many different environmental effects. These are the frequency, amplitude of strain or stress, and temperature. In addition, internal damping is effected by corrosion fatigue, grain size, and porosity. The damping also depends on the number of fatigue cycles. There is a functional relationship among the damping, number of cycles and applied stress. In this study, these seven different environmental factors and their effects on the damping are analysed in the case of 6061 aluminium alloy. The relationships between the damping and every single effective factor are complex and vary depending on the aluminium type.Tłumienie wewnętrzne w materiałach metalicznych zmienia się w zależności od wpływu wielu czynników środowiskowych. Czynnikami tymi mogą być częstość i amplituda przykładanego naprężenia i odkształcenia oraz temperatura. Ponadto na tłumienie wewnętrzne wpływa zmęczenie korozyjne, rozmiar ziarna i porowatość materiału. Tłumienie zależy również od liczby zrealizowanych cykli zmęczeniowych. Istnieje funkcyjna relacja pomiędzy wartością współczynnika tłumienia a liczbą cykli i stanem naprężenia. W pracy zaprezentowano siedem różnych czynników środowiskowych decydujących o poziomie tłumienia wewnętrznego na przykładzie stopu aluminium 6061. Zależności pomiędzy współczynnikiem tłumienia a każdym z tych czynników z osobna okazały się dość skomplikowane i wrażliwe na typ badanego aluminium
Nasal Base Retraction: A Treatment Algorithm
No full textLee, Bernard T./0000-0002-5533-3166; Tas, Suleyman/0000-0001-8874-3009; Colakoglu, Salih/0000-0002-8747-0616Background: Nasal base retraction results from cephalic malposition of the alar base in the vertical plane, which causes disharmony of the alar base with the rest of the nose structures. Correcting nasal base retraction is very important for improved aesthetic outcomes; however, there is a limited body of literature about this deformity and its treatment. Objectives: Create a nasal base retraction treatment algorithm based on a severity classification system. Methods: This is a retrospective case review study of 53 patients who underwent rhinoplasty with correction of alar base retraction by the senior author (S.T.). The minimum follow-up time was 6 months. Levator labii alaque nasi muscle dissection or alar base release with or without a rim graft on the effected side were performed based on the severity of the alar base retraction. Aesthetic results were assessed with objective grading of preoperative and postoperative patient photographs by two independent plastic surgeons. Functional improvement was assessed with patient self-evaluations of nasal patency. Also, a rhinoplasty outcomes evaluation (ROE) questionnaire was distributed to patients. Results: Comparison of preoperative and postoperative photographs demonstrated that nasal base asymmetry was significantly improved in all cases, and 85% of the patients had complete symmetry. Nasal obstruction was also significantly reduced after surgery (P < 0.001). The majority of patients reported satisfaction (92.5%), with an ROE total score greater than or equal to 20. Conclusions: New techniques and a treatment algorithm for correcting nasal base retraction deformities that will help rhinoplasty surgeons obtain aesthetically and functionally pleasing outcomes for patients
Hand and Genital Sympathetic Skin Potentials in Flaccid and Erectile Penile States in Normal Potent Men and Patients With Premature Ejaculation
No full textSympathetic skin potentials were recorded from the hand and genital region in 14 normal potent men and 18 patients with premature ejaculations. With the penis flaccid the sympathetic skin potentials obtained did not differ significantly in both groups. However, when erection was induced by 50 mg. intracavernous papaverine injection, the genital sympathetic skin potentials were significantly suppressed in all but 3 normal men, while the hand potentials did not change. In subjects with premature ejaculation genital and hand sympathetic skin potentials were suppressed during erection as a generalized bodily reaction except in 1 patient. This phenomenon may indicate that the specific and regional suppression of genital sympathetic activity during erection could not be properly adjusted in patients with premature ejaculation. © 1995 American Urological Association, Inc
The nature of spontaneous cavernosal activity
No full textObjective To determine the characteristics of spontaneous cavernosal activity (SCA) and to relate this to previous descriptions of spontaneous potentials from the cavernosum (single potential analysis of cavernosal activity, SPACE), Subjects and methods The SCA was recorded in 31 normal men with no sexual problems; various manipulations were applied using concentric-needle (CN), bipolar needle (BN) and surface electrodes. The electrical activity was compared with the observed slow retractile movements of the flaccid penis and with other assessments of electrical activity from skin, Results SCA appeared synchronously from both sides of the cavernosal bodies in all normal subjects when detected by CN electrodes. The synchronous recordings both by CN and BN electrodes, or both by CN and surface electrodes registered similar oscillatory potentials. Slow retractile movements of the penis occurred synchronously with these potentials in all subjects and both were absent during erection. Conclusion SCA is apparently related to biomechanical slow movement artefacts of the flaccid penis; it may be a consequence of the summed contractions of smooth muscle groups in the cavernosum Observing the small retractile slow movements of the flaccid penis and recording the SCA may be a useful indirect method to characterize cavernosal neural innervation and smooth muscle activity
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