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Executive Summary This article looks at the evolution of telework in the United States as well as the benefits and potential problems associated with this growing phenomenon. One of these issues, effective leadership of teleworkers, is the focus of the article. The authors suggest that Situational Leadership™, a leadership model which has been in use since the late 1960s, is an appropriate tool for leaders to use in successfully influencing their off-site workers. Situational Leadership™ is explained and applied to a variety of telecommuting scenarios.

PurposeThis study aims to examine the extent to which the demographic and work‐related variables of educational level, gender, age, salary level, organizational tenure, and union membership are useful predictors of satisfaction with pay level, benefits, raises, and the structure/administration of a compensation system. These variables have previously been utilized in the prediction of satisfaction with pay levels, but have not been tested as useful predictors of the other three dimensions of compensation satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThis study used multiple regression analyses and samples of 423 employees in the USA with a 63 percent response rate and 519 employees in the Baltics with a 73 percent response rate.FindingsIt was found that not all of the variables are equally useful predictors of each of the four dimensions of compensation satisfaction and that differential prediction is occurring among the four dimensions and across the two world regions. Surprisingly, it was found that in seven of the eight analyses the strongest predictor of satisfaction with the four dimensions of compensation satisfaction is job tenure, while actual compensation level, which was expected to be the strongest predictor, was found to be quite weak.Research limitations/implicationsA major weakness is that all of the data were self‐reported. Ideally the demographic and work‐related variables would have been collected directly from the organization in addition to being collected from employees. A second limitation is that the characteristics of the present sample may limit the generalizability of the results. An inordinate number of the subjects were unionized, female, and married. The major implication is that the paper supports the differential prediction for various dimensions of compensation satisfaction and for the need to explore for additional variables that can account for significant proportions of the variance in these dimensions.Originality/valueThe paper is the first of its kind to examine in a single or cross‐cultural setting the relationship between common demographic and work‐related factors and compensation satisfaction while controlling for organizational level. The literature review traverses the research in the area stretching from the 1940s to 2005 and makes specific suggestions for future research that could advance the field.

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Although the emerging construct of authentic leadership has received considerable attention recently, there are still diverse and competing theoretical perspectives. Common with nascent theory, many have suggested that researchers attempt to craft expanded and more nuanced conceptions of current and potential components, antecedents, and outcomes associated with the conduct and attribution of leader authenticity. Although such theoretical advancement is essential to the maturation of the paradigm, management historians recognize the important role the historical record can play in the progression of contemporary frameworks. During archival research of the business proceedings of Trumpet Records, a 1950s independent record label, we encountered the compelling story of an entrepreneurial leader whose extraordinary integrity and authenticity appeared inconsistent with certain aspects of the principal authentic leadership definitions beginning to converge in the literature. Accordingly, we examined the life and writings of Lillian McMurry, the founder of Trumpet Records, to propose a framework by which leader integrity initiates the conduct and attribution of authentic leadership to transcend charismatic and narcissistic tendencies and diminish the abuse of symbolic status.

Climate change and industrial agricultural practices pose threats to the future of Kansas agriculture. To inform the debate about sustainable agriculture that must soon occur, we seek to illuminate the factors involved in the decision making of farmers in Kansas. Drawing from Actor-Network Theory, we consider how farmers' participation in the industrial agricultural network shapes their decisions, defines the types of knowledge and skills that are valued by farmers and others in the network, transforms what it means to be a Kansas grain farmer, and entrenches unsustainable production practices. [Actor-Network Theory, climate change, industrial agriculture, Ogallala aquifer, water]

Executive Summary The evolution and mechanics of mentoring are examined as a prelude to arguing that mentoring is a natural component of effective leadership. Pro-social behavioral roots for mentoring are discussed and informal and formal mentoring programs are compared. The goals, merits, and problems with mentoring are explored. Employee opinions about mentoring are reported as uniformly positive and newly gathered opinions from mentoring students and hospitality industry managers are discussed. Conclusions include that mentoring is a natural part of the leadership dynamic and that mentoring of any kind is beneficial to employees. Suggestions are made as to how to improve the mentoring talents of leaders.