Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize research and theory on the definition, antecedents, outcomes, and mechanisms of networking in organizations. Design/methodology/approach – Descriptions of networking are reviewed and an integrated definition of networking in organizations is presented. Approaches for measuring and studying networking are considered and the similarities and differences of networking with related constructs are discussed. A theoretical model of the antecedents and outcomes of networking is presented with the goal of integrating existing networking research. Mechanisms through which networking leads to individual and organizational outcomes are also considered. Findings – Networking is defined as goal-directed behavior which occurs both inside and outside of an organization, focussed on creating, cultivating, and utilizing interpersonal relationships. The current model proposes that networking is influenced by a variety of individual, job, and organizational level factors and leads to increased visibility and power, job performance, organizational access to strategic information, and career success. Access to information and social capital are proposed as mechanisms that facilitate the effects of networking on outcomes. Originality/value – Networking is held to be of great professional value for ambitious individuals and organizations. However, much of the research on networking has been spread across various disciplines. Consequentially, consensus on many important topics regarding networking remains notably elusive. This paper reviews and integrates existing research on networking in organizations and proposes directions for future study. A comprehensive definition and model of networking is presented and suggestions to researchers are provided.
Recent work has demonstrated the importance of evaluation to creative problem solving. How people go about evaluating creative ideas, however, may also influence their performance on creative problemsolving tasks. In the present study, undergraduates were asked to provide advertising campaigns for a marketing problem where solutions were evaluated for quality, originality, and elegance. Prior to preparing their campaigns they were presented with a set of candidate ideas and asked to critique these ideas. Attributes of criticisms were appraised with respect to amount, number, depth, usefulness, range, complexity, isolation, risk sensitivity, operational relevance, and specificity. It was found that more creative problem solutions were obtained when people provided a limited number of deep criticisms. Moreover, effective criticism was inhibited by problem complexity. The implications of these findings for improving performance on tasks calling for creative thinking are discussed.
Leaders are the representatives of the movements that have made history. We picture Martin Luther King, Jr. and his poignant "I Have a Dream" speech when discussing the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s in America. We attribute Indian independence in large part to Mahatma Gandhi, who strongly advocated for nonviolent civil disobedience amid a country torn apart by war. We remember Nelson Mandela as a driving force in the movement to end South African apartheid, even from inside a jail cell. A relatively small number of leaders have exerted a disproportionately large impact on society. As a result, researchers have spent decades trying to understand how they achieved this influence (Bass & Riggio, 2005; Yukl, 2010). Although there remains debate among leadership scholars, perhaps one of the most steadfast pillars of leadership is that it is a process (Stogdill, 1948; Yukl, 2010). Put most simply, leadership involves two parties-leader(s) and followers-who work together to achieve common goals. It is generally agreed upon that leaders, assigned or emergent, use influence strategies, formal and/or informal, to aid in the process of persuading followers toward shared goals. As such, followers, or those holding a temporary or permanent supporting role in goal attainment, play a critical part in advancing both the message and agenda of leaders. What is perhaps most interesting about followers is that they can play an equally critical role either having high contact with their leader (e.g., team leader) or having never met a leader at all (e.g., presidents). This particular point is perhaps why interest in exploring the wide-reaching nature of leader influence and effectiveness has been maintained for over a century. Historically, research on effective leadership was restricted to transformational and charismatic leadership
Ethical codes of conduct exist in almost every profession. Field-specific codes of conduct have been around for decades, each articulating specific ethical and professional guidelines. However, there has been little empirical research on researchers’ perceptions of these codes of conduct. In the present study, we interviewed faculty members in six research disciplines and identified five themes bearing on the circumstances under which they use ethical guidelines and the underlying reasons for not adhering to such guidelines. We then identify problems with the manner in which codes of conduct in academia are constructed and offer solutions for overcoming these problems.
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