Through the use of a narrative-interview approach and contingency theory as research methods, this study explores the teleworking behaviors of N = 41 public managers when remotely managing and leading their organizations as virtual bureaucracies during the Covid-19 lockdown. Its findings suggest that their role set was underscored by communal and supervisory tasks. Managers were confronted with environmental challenges of emotional nature (e.g., anxieties). But they also associated teleworking with improving their work-life balance and staffing work process. Simply put, teleworking was perceived with having both positive and negative organizational outcomes. Drawing from the implications of these findings, this study proposes recommendations for future research.

PurposeThis study addresses the perspective of N = 273 school principals as related to technology role in performing managerial roles.Design/methodology/approachIn the context of this study, the concept of technology only refers to digital office tools such as microcomputers, email and administrative software. The concept of managerial roles is understood and used herein in relation to the definition provided by Mintzberg (2013) in his managerial typology. Moreover, a survey method was used to collect data from the aforementioned managerial employees. The managerial typology of Mintzberg was applied as a theoretical lens to collect and interpret survey data.FindingsThe findings suggest that surveyed school principals believe that technology use improves their ability to perform informational and decisional roles at work. Arguably, these managerial employees are satisfied with using technology as a labor tool for administrative and managerial work.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited because its sample size does not allow the findings to be generalized to all Canadian school principals. Nevertheless, the findings are significant because they suggest that similar to the positive technology-related attitude of managerial employees in business organizations, those in school organizations also perceive technology as an organizational asset. For that reason, management scholars should not only limit their studies of the intersection between technology and managerial roles or work to business organizations. They also need to extend their research studies and fieldwork to school organizations.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in the fact that in management literature, the intersection between technology and the managerial roles of school principals is underresearched. As such, this study represents a step forward toward the need to study the technology-related behaviors of school principals to better understand how technology use enables their workflow system.

This article uses an analysis of the language used in the Teacher Performance Appraisal Technical Requirements Manual in Ontario to highlight some procedural issues. Arguably, the existence of flaws in the teacher evaluation system is not only limited to evaluation practices but is also embedded in evaluation regulations. Furthermore, the article provides a novel example of how a study of teacher evaluation systems can go beyond teachers’ perspectives of evaluation practices and can also consider teacher evaluation regulations as a source of empirical inquiry and a form of knowledge.

This article aims to address the fairness of promotion evaluation (appointments to the rank of full professor) process in Canadian business schools as perceived by tenured business female faculty. Our analysis is underscored by two studies with two different data collection methods (survey data analysis, policy content analysis) and driven by procedural justice as the main theoretical lens. The first study addresses the perspective of our survey participants ( N=198) by revealing that they believe the process of promotion evaluations is fair. Intrigued by this result, we undertook a second study to review the language of faculty collective agreements in these schools to explain partially why our participants believe in the fairness of promotion evaluations. The language of these faculty collective agreements suggests that the above result makes sense considering that they regulate promotion evaluations and decisions. However, this does not mean that the process of faculty promotions is free of gender discrimination as these faculty collective agreements have not addressed all the antecedents and predictors of gender inequity per se. The findings of this article are relevant because the issue of the underrepresentation of female faculty as related to promotion in senior academic ranks in Canadian business schools is under-researched. The existing studies on faculty promotion evaluations are too general and have not specifically addressed the fairness of business schools’ faculty promotion evaluation systems from the perspective of tenured business female faculty. Plus, the relevance of the findings of this article lies in the fact that contrary to most general studies on female faculty experience with promotion evaluations at Canadian universities and internationally, these findings suggest that such experience in Canadian business schools is not always associated with gender discrimination and negative perspectives among female faculty.

PurposeThis study seeks to explore the union perspective of a group of unionized young Canadian teachers to understand their belief system about trade unionism.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used herein consists of collecting and examining the interview data of participants (n = 37) through the theoretical lens of radical perspective.FindingsThe findings suggest that participants positively associate unionism with bargaining for their special interests, providing professional development services and opportunities for professional socialization. But this pluralist perspective has not translated into an engagement in the union life.Research limitations/implicationsSo far, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to the whole population of Canadian young teachers because the participants’ sample size is not large enough. In consideration of this limitation, unions need to survey union opinion of their young rank and file members at a large scale to draw a clear understanding of the needs of these members to adequately adjust their renewal and revitalization strategies to those needs.Originality/valueThe findings of this study are significant because the intersection between young teachers and organized labor is underresearched in Canada.