نشریه مدیریت بهره وری
پیاپی 57 (تابستان 1400)

Research on perception, reasoning and decision-making processes has recently focused on managers’ cognitive and mental structures. The present qualitative study, hence, set out to examine managers' mental models in the process of human resource risk management and the role they play in improving organizational performance. The research data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews with a sample of 21 managers at knowledge-based companies that were run based on Zaltman Metaphorical Extraction Technique (ZMET) and were subsequently analyzed through Phenomenology approach. The results indicated some similarity in structural features of participating managers’risk-taking and risk-avoiding mental models which can be attributed to the common problems they need to tackle at work. However, significant differences were also observed in terms of inter-relationships in their mental model structures; unlike the risk-avoiding managers who would evade risks, risk-taking managers were found to more frequently employ risk reduction and retention strategies. Moreover, the risk of losing key employees was identified as the most important human resource risk in those knowledge-based companies.

The theory of tournament which seeks a way of enhancing labour motivation and promote their performance through structuring remunerations might be one of the most common strategies to promote employees’ effort and eliminate employers’ asymmetric learning. The structure of the reward is designed in such a way that upon observing the production level, the amount of reward is proportionate to varying amount of effort different laborers invest. The purpose of this research was to consider the extent to which the tournament theory might be employed to promote Iranian employees’ motivation and increase their performance, and thereby, that of national organizations. The research data were collected from a sample of employees at Kalleh Company in 2016. The research questions were answered using Multiperson Tournament with N employees and N reward. The findings indicated that keeping the reward constant, the tournament size could not significantly impact the effort level nor could the amount of reward. Hence, neither of these might be considered as motivation promoting devices to optimize performance. On the other hand, firms prefer larger tournaments with regard to the constant cost required for executing them.

The purpose of the current descriptive and applied survey was to examine the effect of immaculate leadership on human resource productivity with regard to the mediating role of social capital. The research population included Knowledge-Based Companies in Khorramabad out of which an available sample of 197 employees were selected using Kukran formula. The research data were collected using a standardized questionnaire the content validity and reliability of which had initially been confirmed through expert views and Cronbach's alpha. The gleaned research data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS and SPSS software. The findings verified the positive and significant effect of immaculate leadership on social capital at confidence level of 0.95 and the significant increase it made in human resource productivity in Knowledge-Based companies. In addition, the analysis of indirect paths confirmed the significant role of social capital in moderating the effect of immaculate leadership on human resource productivity enhancement. The findings underscore the facilitative role of leadership skills like communication and motivation promoting skills in not only formation of communication networks among employees but also increasing profits and human resources through enhanced individual trust and reliability.

What can facilitate achievement of organizational effectiveness in today's dynamic and turbulent world is an array of organizational leadership styles all of which might be subsumed under the umbrella term of vision leadership which can enhance organizational effectiveness by underscoring the very nature of the organization and its perspectives. In addition to efficient leadership, however, the employees’ meta-functional behaviors are crucial for attaining optimal organizational effectiveness.  The purpose of this applied and descriptive survey was, thus, to explore the extent to which vision leadership might impact organizational effectiveness with a focus on the mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior. The research sample comprised 192 employees at Guilan Agricultural Jihad Organization that was randomly recruited from a population of 385 based on Kukran formula. The research data were collected through a researcher-made and piloted questionnaire that was developed in the initial library research phase of the study to be employed in the subsequent field investigation to obtain the quantitative data necessary to answer the research questions. The collected data were analyzed via Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using SPSS 25 and LISREL 8.8 software. The findings indicated that vision leadership could significantly promote organizational effectiveness and organizational citizenship behavior, and that organizational citizenship behavior had a significant positive impact on organizational effectiveness. That is to say, organizational citizenship behavior was found to mediate the effect of vision leadership on organizational effectiveness.

This descriptive correlational study was undertaken with the purpose of examining the effect of knowledge management dimensions on organizational productivity. The research population comprised all employees at Tabriz Petrochemical Company who, according to existing figures, included 2,400 people in 2017. Based on Kukran formula, a sample of 331 employees was selected as the research participants. The research data were collected via two questionnaires and analyzed through inferential statistics, correlation coefficient and multivariate regression analysis. The findings revealed that knowledge management dimensions including knowledge acquisition, storage, sharing and application had a positive and significant effect on organizational productivity in Tabriz Petrochemical Company. The coefficient of determination in the fitted model was found to be 0.8, indicated that the company’s organizational productivity, as the dependent variable, was significantly impacted not only by the knowledge management dimensions but also by the overall knowledge management. The findings emerging from this study urges the companies to take knowledge management into account as a means of enhancing productivity.

Intellectual capital refers to the body of knowledge, experience, and information that exists in an organization and is considered as intangible organizational assets and resources that can be converted to products, services, and processes to promote productivity and create values. The current applied, descriptive survey set out to investigate and analyze the main indicators and facets of intellectual capital assessment at university level through Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). The research data were gleaned using an interview and a questionnaire. First, the facets and indicators of intellectual capital were identified based on an extensive literature review and comparative content analyses of relevant existing studies as well as interviews with experts in the field who were selected via purposive sampling. Further, the relationships between the aspects and indicators of intellectual capital including human, structural and relational resources and indicators of intellectual capital assessment procedure at university were integratively determined and analyzed through ISM.  Finally, the main variables influencing other variables and influenced by them were identified via MICMAC analysis.  The findings identified the administration and students as independent variables with high levels of dependency and susceptibility that could be impacted by other mediating variables. Any improvement in intellectual capital at university level seem to be reliant on prerequisite modifications in these variables.

The current applied, descriptive and correlational study was undertaken to investigate the extent to which neighborhood-oriented management can promote home business performance and productivity in 15 districts of Tehran, the metropolitan capital of Iran. The research population comprised 1500 employees in 15 districts out of whom a simple random sample of 750 was selected based on Morgan Table. The research data were collected using a researcher-made and piloted five-point Likert scale questionnaire comprising 4 factors and 32 items which tapped the participants’ responses. Having collected the research data, we initially calculated the descriptive statistics like absolute and the relative frequency, the mean, the standard deviation and the variance of background and main variables. Further, the data were analyzed inferentially via correlation, multiple regression and F-Test to verify the research hypotheses. The results confirmed the significant positive effect of neighborhood-oriented management on the promotion of home business performance and productivity in the metropolitan city of Tehran.

The current research set out to identify and rank motivational factors that may reinforce talented individuals to work at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Company (IRIB) through Delphi Ranking. In the first stage of the study, a comprehensive interview was conducted with a purposive sample of 30 experts based on which 245 related factors were initially detected through qualitative coding method. Next, similar factors were eliminated leading to 64 unique factors which were subcategorized into three major categories.  The second and third stages of the study involved scrutinizing the five main factors in each category. Further, the identified factors were ranked and the calculation of the Kendall coefficient indicated a strong consensus among participating experts. Ultimately, three main factors were delineated including those influencing the occupational nature and space, the main factors governing organizational structure and those impacting remunerations, extra benefits and welfare facilities. Taking these factors into account can function as added incentive for the talented to cooperate with the IRIB that might be considered as a creative industry with human capital as the strongest predictor of its success.

A formidable challenge facing cement industries in Boushehr Province is the management of supply chain sustainability in a way to promote its overall performance and productivity. The present study aimed to scrutinize the impact of LARG  competitive strategies on this supply chain sustainability and prioritize them. Initially, the conceptual model of the study was developed through an extensive literature review and identification of prerequisite LARG competitive strategies including tolerance, purity, agility and greenness alongside economic, social and environmental responsibility dimensions of sustainability. The research population comprised 220 employees and managers at Boushehr cement industries out of whom a sample of 140 was randomly recruited based on Cochran formula. The research data were collected using two questionnaires and were analyzed via Factor Analysis. The findings verified the significant and positive impact of all LARG competitive strategies on supply chain sustainability of the cement industries in Bushehr. The findings accentuate the fact that managers in Boushehr cement industries should take into account appropriate risk management strategies to thrive under competitive conditions.

This developmental mixed-methods enquiry was undertaken to propose a model for promoting the social responsibility of faculty members at various branches of Islamic Azad University (IAU) in Tehran Province based on their professional ethics and occupational performance. The research population comprised 5371 full-time and part- time faculty members from whom a sample of 361 was selected based on Kukran formula.  The qualitative phase of the study involved collecting and analyzing the views of 30 experts in the field concerning the dimensions and indicators of the social responsibility construct via Delphi technique. The findings emerging from the qualitative analyses delineated five major factors and 25 indicators tapping the level of social responsibility, and the quantitative analyses indicated significant and positive relationships between faculty members’ social responsibility and their professional ethics and occupational performance. Based on the findings, a model has been proposed for promoting faculty members’ social responsibility at various branches of IAU in Tehran in which professional ethics and occupational performance function as independent variables with the former being of paramount importance.